Something We Can't Explain
by Live4YourLove
Summary: Bella, Alice, and Rosalie live in an apartment twenty-five stories high, hiding the secret of what they really are. They believe they are human, but how would they know if they remember nothing before the age of fourteen? B/E, A/J, R/Em
1. Prologue

**AN: So this is a new story I've been working on and its a little different from most other stories, but in a way kind of like them? Yeah, its hard to explain. But heres the prologue. Don't give up after the prologue, try the first chapter too!**

**Summary: Alice,Bella and Rose are hiding a huge secret from the world: they aren't exactly human. They don't know what they are or if there are others like them. All they can ****hope for is that some day they will find out.**

**Well everyone else does it so i guess i will....**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I wouldn't have ended at Breaking Dawn! You can never get enough Edward!**

Prologue

We don't know what we are. We don't know if we are even human. We eat and sleep like a normal person; we even look like normal people. Well we do when we retract our wings, but that's not the point. We are living life not knowing what we are or where we came from.

We live in an apartment about twenty-five stories high. About a years ago we bought the whole floor of apartments so we wouldn't have to deal with snoopy neighbors. It's the highest level in the building so no one really has to come to our level and we have it locked from the elevator.

We enjoy the heights, it helps us get used to not being able to fly whenever we please. When we don't have our wings 'out' we feel different. Its like when a human is on a boat for a long period of time, they don't feel right because they are not meant to be in/on the water. Or when people are scared of heights because they are meant to be on the ground. Normal people love the land because thats where they belong. We are completely different; we love the heights, we enjoy the feeling of the wind in our hair as we flap our wings and sail through the open air.

Unfortunately that doesn't happen often because we live in the city. If it was my choice alone we would be somewhere secluded. Somewhere where we can be ourselves. But Alice wanted so bad to just live a normal life. She wanted to live in an apartment and get jobs like normal people. I guess you could say we were living a normal life, if you define no friends, no family, and owning your own secret apartment so you can let your guard down and be yourself a 'normal life'. Yep, thats totally normal. If you ask me, why try to live a normal life when you know your not a normal person?

All three of us lived in an orphanage since we were fourteen. We don't know anything about our lives before then, so there's no way of knowing how we got this way. But deep down I know that there is something to be found, someone who know how we got this way. It's just a matter of finding them, or letting them find us. In the end it doesn't change what we are, but its nice to know how it all happened, you know?

We never got adopted out from the orphanage. When we turned 18 we left, taking some money that close friends gave us to start our new life. It hurts deep down to know that no one ever wanted us, but we get past it. We have each other to take care of and to love. I live with my two sisters Alice and Rosalie. They aren't actually my sisters, but I feel they are, even if we aren't blood related. They are my family no matter what, I don't need a blood test to tell me they are.

Alice is the wiry one. Out of all three of us she has enough energy to keep us all going. And you definitely need it when your cooped up on the top floor of an apartment complex with no one but your two best friends to keep you company. She always find some type of game to play or something funny to tell us. She's our own personal entertainment.

Rosalie is...well....its hard to define Rosalie. She is her own type. First off she is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Of course when your _that _beautiful your bound to be a little bit conceded. Well she is, but not enough to put people down about their own looks. No shes never done that, she is way too sweet for that. See what I mean? She is too complex to be described or defined, which I think is a good thing.

And then there is me. Plain old, normal looking Bella. There's really not much to say about me. Rosalie is the beauty, Alice is the energy and I am nothing special. Don't get me wrong, I don't have an image problem. I am perfectly fine with the way I am. I don't like being the center of attention anyways. If I was the center of attention, I wouldn't hold it very long. I'm to clumsy and awkward for my own good. I can't walk over a smooth surface without finding some way to fall on my face.

But when I have my wings out its a totally different story. We are all more graceful when we are in our 'normal' state, I guess you could say. Even Alice and Rosalie can be clumsy at times(though I beat them by a land slide). It's like when a bird walks on the ground...it just looks awkward and they are always stumbling. Of course we don't look _that _bad when we walk, we worked on it for a while and now we are somewhat graceful. We look completely normal, trust me! I wouldn't step out of this apartment on my own two feet if I wasn't under control of my balance. It would just be way too embarrassing.

Plus we can't draw any attention, there is no way anyone can find out about us. If people did there's no telling what they would do. I mean we have our assumptions and they aren't pretty let me tell you that.

It's not easy keeping away from people. Its hard to watch people laugh and interact with each other and know that you will never be able to do that. Trust me, we all feel this way. I can't even tell you how many times we have came home to our apartment arguing about just letting one person in. But in the end our safety is to valuable to us, so we decide not to. We decide to hide from the world, so we can live. So people don't look at us like freaks, which is what I sometimes feel like we are. I mean wouldn't you feel like a freak among humans if you walk around your apartment with large wings protruding from your back? Yeah, I thought so.

.


	2. Chapter 1: ABC's

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I would have made sure Kristen Stuart didn't play Bella in the movie! (Sorry to anyone who likes her)_**

Chapter 1: ABC's

_**(BPOV)**_

I looked over my shoulder at my white outstretched wings. It felt great to just let them out after a long day at work. It's like being curled up into a tight ball all day and then finally getting to stretch your legs out. It is extremely relaxing.

The weirdest part of being what we are is the impossibility of it all. It isn't logical. What I mean is that when we want to, we can 'retract' our wings; they just disappear under the skin. How you may ask? We all have no idea. We just pull them in and they shrink and shrink until they disappear under the skin. It hurts like hell when they come out and go back in but its worth it in the end.

"What do you think would happen if we injured our wings?" I heard Alice's little voice coming from across the room. She was sitting on the couch, her gray wings resting comfortable at her side. She was gently stroking the feathers like she was petting a dog. Her wings were a light gray color and Rosalie's were white with specks of gray all over. Mine, however, were pure white.

We were sitting in the living room of one of our many apartments just relaxing. It was seven at night, we had all just got back from a long day at work. Alice worked at a Bloomingdales down the street as a store manager. It suited her; she loved being around all the clothes and handbags, and of course she loved the store discount.

Rosalie works at a local car repair shop, I forgot the name of the place because I never go there and she never talks about it. It's weird when you look at her, she looks like a supermodel but she works with cars....weird combination, huh?

And I work at a small bookstore exactly three blocks from here. It's small and not many people work there so I end up working late into the night until they close. I love it mostly because I love to read. I end up using all my paycheck on books I see while I stock the shelves.

"I mean our backs heal pretty quickly when we pull them back in, but what happens if our wings get injured? Will we still be able to tuck them back in or do we have to wait till they heal? Do they heal as quickly as our skin on our back does?" She continued, still staring at her wings. I laughed at how talkative she was. We hadn't even been in the living room more then five minutes and she had already broken the peaceful silence.

"I don't know." I smiled over at her.

Rosalie laughed from her position on the counter top where the kitchen over looked the living room. She cocked one perfectly shaped eyebrow at Alice who was looking up at her. "Do you want to test those theories?" She asked evilly, while reaching behind her, looking for a weapon.

"No!" Alice squeaked, tucking her wings behind her and holding her arms out defensively.

I laughed along with Rose as we watched Alice's expression of pure fear. I was mostly laughing because I wouldn't put it past Rosalie to actually try. She was always the crazy one.

"I'm just kidding, Ali!" She said, her whole body shaking with laughter.

"That's not funny!" Alice pouted, folding her arms across her small frame.

"Yeah, it was." I laughed harder, clutching my sides.

Alice huffed and bounced up off the couch. She stomped off towards the front door to the apartment.

"Where are you going?" I asked, watching her stomp around the corner.

"To talk to Bingo!" She yelled from down the hall.

Bingo was a blue and yellow Macaw who talked _a lot. _The name Bingo was not chosen by any of us unfortunately. We adopted him from a small pet store about a year ago. He was already known as Bingo so we had to keep it.

We have an apartment full of all kinds of birds. It's the only animal we can keep since we are on the top floor. Well I guess we could get cats, but we all hate cats. We can't stand to be near them and we run if we see one. They are just vile creatures...

We have Roberto and Birdy the two yellow finches. Yeah, a bird named Birdy....Alice's idea. Then there is Rosie, an African Gray. We named her Rosie after Rosalie because all the bird can say it 'pretty'. You get the point....

Alice decided that she was going to teach Bingo the alphabet in hopes that he would stop saying stuff like 'I see dead people' and 'Come here so I can lick your face'. Yeah, Bingo is a strange bird. Just makes us wonder who owned him before the pet store.

I quietly got off the couch and ran to catch up to her on her way to the 'Bird Apartment'. I reached her in time to see her walk through the front door. I peeked through the door she left open to see Alice look around the room and out the door she came in like any fugitive would do if they were doing something they shouldn't. Once she saw the coast was clear she opened the door to Bingos cage and lifted him out.

He was happily perched on her finger, his colorful feathers shimmering in the moonlight that came from the huge wall to wall window. Alice smiled and stroked his head with her finger, the bird bobbed up and down happily, lifting its wings out spread eagle.

"Carnage." Alice said, looked directly at the bird. She spoke the word slowly with as much pronunciation she could ,as if she were talking to a disabled child. I felt my jaw drop. She was deliberately teaching the bird to say 'carnage'! I was appalled.

"Carnage." She repeated this time just a touch louder. The bird bobbed up and down happily again. He skwaked loudly but didn't say a word.

"No, no Bingo. Say it out loud, say it. Carnage." She said, a impish smirk on her face like a kid getting away with something they know they shouldn't. But Alice wasn't going to get away with this. The alphabet my butt! How dare she teach him such a stupid word.

The bird scwaked a jumbled version of the word 'carnage'. I gasped involuntarily. Now the bird knew it!

Alice whipped around to face me the moment she heard me gasp. "Alice!" I hissed.

She blinked her big eyes innocently, giving me "The Pout", as Rose and I like to call it. No one could be mad at Alice once she wore that innocent expression. It was like hitting a puppy with a rolled up paper after it used the bathroom in the house, only the dog couldn't help it; it hadn't been taught yet.

"Hmm... that's funny, I thought it went A,B,C,D,E..." I glared at her disapprovingly.

"I _was_ teaching him the Alphabet! I promise!" She smiled innocently.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Sure, sure." I said sarcastically.

"No really. It's how the Army kids learn the alphabet. A is for.. Armor, B is for Bombs..." she stumbled over her lame excuse. "C is for Carnage!" She grinned widely, proud of her cover up.

This was _Alice_ I told myself, there was no helping the insane. I harshened my glare for a moment, she widened her smile in response.

Sighing, I shook my head in defeat. I turned around to exit the room when I heard it again.

"Carnage." I heard her whisper as my foot hit the entrance of the apartment.

"Alice!" I yelled spinning around to face her.

"Sorry!" She laughed, putting Bingo back in his cage. "Come help me feed them."

"Fine!" I snapped, still irritated by her evil plan to make Bingo say 'carnage'. Where did she even get that word from? It was beyond random and completely gross.

I opened Birdy and Roberto's cage to poor them some food. They chirped lightly, happy of my presence. Alice was across the room doing the same for Rosie who continued to repeat the word 'pretty'.

"Yes, yes. I know your pretty, Rosie!" Alice laughed as I heard the bird food hit the metal pan in Rosie's cage.

After we were all done feeding the birds Alice spoke up.

"I've been thinking." Alice said hesitantly, while putting away the bag of bird feed she held.

"Uh oh." I mumbled as I did the same to the bag I was holding.

"Hey! I'm serious!" Alice said with a stern expression, while pointing her index finger at me.

"Okay, okay." I sighed, sitting on the wooden rocking chair placed in the corner. "What's on your mind pixie."

"Well I was thinking...and..." She hesitated, tapping her index finger on her chin. _Uh oh....Alice at a loss for words? This can not be good!... _I thought to myself.

"Spit it out Alice." I said.

"Okay!" She said loudly. "You know that one time Bingo almost flew out the window?" I simply nodded. "Well, I think we should get his wings clipped."

My eyes widened as I stared up at her small figure now pacing the room._ Clip....his....wings!?_

"WHAT!?" I heard Rosalie scream from the other room. A moment later I heard her stomp down the hallway towards the apartment we where in.

That's another weird trait we have. We have very, _very _good hearing. Most likely Rosalie heard what Alice said as clearly as if she were standing right next to her. It gets pretty frustrating sometimes. There is absolutely no privacy here.

"Please, _please." _Rosalie emphasized the word 'please' as she walked up to tiny Alice, glaring down at her. "Tell me I did not just hear you say what I think you said!"

Rosalie had her wings out now, looking all threatening against little Alice, who was now shrinking backwards in fear.

"Chill Rose! Hear me out!" Alice shouted, straightening up quickly causing Rose to jump back in surprise. Alice may be small, but she was fierce.

Rosalie sighed while nodding her head for Alice to proceed.

"Okay." Alice took a deep breath, flexing her wings and arms to get comfortable. "I was saying we should....you know...because if he gets out...then he is out there all alone and he wont know what to do!" She pouted, looking over at Bingo.

I thought about what she said for a moment. She was right though, he has been kept as a pet all his life and if he got out he might not know how to survive. Plus he was very colorful, so he would easily stand out among all the other birds. Do birds eat other birds?

"How would you feel if you got your wings clipped!" Rosalie shouted.

Alice smirked at her. "Well, technically it would just grow back..." She said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean!" Rosalie yelled.

"I know, I know!" Alice shouted back, crossing her arms over her chest. "But it's for his own safety."

"I think I have to agree with Alice." I spoke up. "It would be bad if he got out of the apartment."

Rosalie turned her glare over to me, I flinched back in response. It's not very often that I'm on the receiving end of her vicious glares. It was actually frightening.

Rosalie stopped glaring for a moment, obviously thinking about her answer. I knew what it would be though, she loved Bingo as much as the rest of us.

"Okay, fine!" She said, throwing her arms up in frustration. "We can take him to the vet tomorrow..."

"Yay!" Alice squealed excitedly, while bouncing up and down.

Rosalie shook her head in defeat as she shuffled out of the room. She hated loosing arguments. It didn't happen often because she was very scary when she wanted to be. She could get you to agree with her out of pure fear. I know from experience...

"Oh, oh!" Alice squealed, "None of us have work tomorrow! We should go shopping or something!"

I groaned in response to her statement. All Alice ever thought about was shopping. She worked at Bloomingdales! Why couldn't she get over her shopping obsession at the place she worked at!? No, she has to come home and torture me with it!

"Oh! Come on, Bells!" She said, coming to sit on lap like she was a child. "It will be fun!"

I glared at her while growling under my breath. "Fine! But we are _not _staying out all day! I don't want to spend my whole Saturday shopping."

"Yes!" She screamed, jumping off my lap and running out the door.

I rolled my eyes and left the bird room as well. I headed towards my own apartment at the end of the hall near the elevator. Tomorrow was bound to be pure torture, I needed all the rest possible in preparation for Alice's day of 'fun'.

_**AN:Review please! I have the next two chapters written, so once I get responses I can post 'em!**_


	3. Chapter 2: Paintball

AN: Yay! Glad y'all like it! Heres the second chapter in Edwards POV! It was hard writing in his pov idk why....so hope you like it.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I would make someone more worthy of being with adorable Emmet! Boo Rosalie! How can she say she would give him up to be human?**_

Chapter 2: Paintball

**EPOV**

"Emmett!" Jasper yelled, "That's my box!"

"Nom this one is mine!" Emmett replied, holding up the cardboard box that read 'Jasper's Stuff'.

"Then why does it have my name on it?" Jasper asked, pointing at the writing on the box.

Emmett crunched up his eyebrows in confusion and turned the box to read the front. "Oh." He mumbled, then dropping the box at his feet. It hit the floor with a loud clank.

"What are you doing!" Jasper yelled, running to pick up the box. "You probably broke something!"

Emmett just laughed and walked out of the room to grab another box. I sighed and fell onto the couch, careful not to hurt my wings.

We were still trying to get things settled at our new apartment. We used to live in an older apartment about a mile north from here but it was only three stories high; we wanted someplace higher up. That's why we got the 24th floor. We enjoy heights because we can't fly whenever we want. It sucks living in the city, but the guys have jobs here and they want to live a somewhat normal life. Of course as normal a life can be with the whole having wings thing. Don't ask because none of us know how we got this way or where we came from.

I'm not complaining though; I love it. Flying is the most amazing experience in the world. Yeah, its not fun to have to isolate yourself from the world because you cant let anyone find out you have wings and can fly, but its worth it. Only thing that bugs me is the fact that we don't know how this happened to us.

All we remember is the first day at an orphanage in Port Angeles. We were fourteen and had no memory of a life before that day we were admitted as orphans. About the time we all turned fifteen, Carlisle and Esme adopted us. Even though both of them were only in their early twenties, they took care of us as well as anyone else could, if not better. We lived with them until we were eighteen but then moved out because we couldn't stand keeping our secret from them anymore. Moving seemed like the easiest option.

Emmett got a job at the fitness center a block from our new apartment; hes a personal trainer. His first job was working at Chucky Cheese; he was Chucky the mouse. Unfortunately he got fired the first day for growling at little kids and hitting them with the padded mallets you use to hit the gophers.

Jasper works part time at a sporting goods store while he contemplates going to college to study psychology or history. He's always been into all things army and war. We never understood his obsession with it and left him to his Civil War books.

As for me, I work at a music store one of my father's friend owns. It's not very big and doesn't pay much but its enough. My parents still help us out with the apartment. I feel bad about it but really theres nothing we can do. We are only nineteen and need all the help we can get while we make a new life for ourselves.

"What are we doing for dinner?" Emmett asked, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starving!"

"When are you not hungry?" Jasper asked, rolling his eyes and plopping down on the couch next to me.

"After I'm done eating." Emmett replied matter-of-factly.

Emmett has always been the comedian of the family. Jasper and myself are so laid back and mellow that without Emmett I'm sure it would get extremely boring. He's always finding ways to make the people around him laugh if not through jokes then by some crazy prank he plans.

Jasper is a mellow guy. He's an intelligent, kind person who can relax a room just with his presence. It's hard for anyone not to like him. He also really quiet, much like myself at times. He spends most of his time reading books about different types of wars through out history. Don't ask me why he likes reading about that stuff, because I have never understood his obsession with it.

As for me, my obsession is music. Hints why I work at a music store. I enjoy playing the piano, and writing my own compositions. I don't write a lot of my own music though, I don't ever really have any inspiration.

I rolled my eyes, about to reply to Emmett's idiotic remark when there was a knock at the door.

"Uhh...." Emmett looked to the door and then back to us.

"I'll get it." I sighed, standing up. I winced as I quickly pulled my wings in. I then rolled my shoulders a few times to ease the pain in my back. I looked over at Jasper to see he had also pulled his wings in.

"I cant get it!" Emmett shouted, twirling in a circle keeping his eyes on his wings. I watched him as his massive body and large black wings spun in a tight circle in the middle of the living room.

"Emmett you do it all the time!" Jasper said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I know but they wont go back in!" Emmett replied.

There was another knock at the door, this time it was a little louder. I ran to the front door and looked out the peephole to see a tall blond man standing in the doorway holding a plate of brownies.

"Emmett, hurry up!" I hissed turning around to see if he had got his wings back in. When I spotted him, he was behind the couch still twirling around trying to get his wings to retract. He huffed while swatting at his wings as if it would help. His spinning turned out of control when he started to get dizzy. He swayed to the side, knocking over the lamp sitting on the coffee table, it hit the hard wood floors shattering into a million pieces.

"Emmett!" Jasper yelled louder.

"I can't do it under pressure!" Emmett replied. He instantly stopped spinning and turned to Jasper. He grinned evilly before saying, "That's what she said!"

"Emmett, this is no time for jokes!" I yelled, this time in a more threatening tone.

"Fine!" He huffed and pulled his wings in with no difficulty. I rolled my eyes and opened the door.

"Hi! I'm Mike." The man said loudly. He smiled at me while pushing past me to get into the apartment. He didn't even wait for me to ask him to come inside. Rude much?

"Uh, okay." I mumbled, closing the door behind him.

"Jasper." Jasper greeted him, holding out his hand.

"Mike." He replied shaking Jasper's hand.

"And this is my idiotic brother, Emmett." Jasper said, pointing to Emmett who was just standing against the wall staring at Mike. He lifted his hand in the air in a manner that you could hardly be called waving. I shook my head at his impolite greeting.

"Oh!" Mike breathed. "These are for y'all. My mom made them."

I took the plate of brownies from Mike while trying to hold in my laughter. Unfortunately, Emmett didn't have the decency; he burst out in laughter, while beating his hand on the wall repeating 'mom' over and over. Jasper was laughing silently to himself since Mike wasn't looking his way.

Poor Mike didn't even know why we were laughing. He had to be in his late twenties and still living with his mother. It was hilarious but at the same time I felt bad for him. He didn't even see a problem with it.

"So where did you guys come from?" He asked, resting against the wall like he was going to be here for a while. I definitely wasn't going to drag this visit on longer then it had to be.

"Our mother..." Emmett mumbled quietly under his breath.

"Just a few miles from here. Just needed a new apartment." I said, glaring at Emmett.

"Oh." Mike breathed, nodding his head in understanding. "Well I live next door with my mother. She wanted to welcome you to the building. I own a hardware store down the street. You guys should come by sometime. We should hang out."

Emmett immediately stopped smiling and looked over at me, fear written all over his face. It looked as if someone had just pointed a gun at him. He started to shake his head 'no' so hard he could have probably given himself whip lash. I laughed at the fearful expression on Emmett's face from the thought of having to hang out with Mike and concidered subjecting myself to the torture just to see Emmett squirm...

After a moment of no answer from me, Mike followed my gaze to Emmett. The second Mike turned to him, he stopped shaking his head and smiled innocently at Mike.

"Maybe." I said.

"Cool." He replied enthusiastically.

There was an awkward moment of silence as we all stood there staring at one another. Thankfully Jasper took the reins this time and broke the silence.

"Well it was nice to meet you, Mitch." Jasper said while slowly making his way towards the front door. Emmett snickered, obviously knowing his name wasn't Mitch.

"It's Mike." Mike corrected him, following him to the door.

"Oh, sorry about that Mike." Jasper apologized, "We have to get up early to go....uhm...to our mothers house."

"Wait, I thought we where--" Emmett started to say, but I slapped my hand over his mouth quickly before he gave away our excuse.

"Oh sure." Mike replied stepping out the front door Jasper held open. "I'll see you guys later." He winked at us then ran down the hall to his own apartment.

I watched as Jasper quickly shut the door. A second later I felt sometime wet move across the palm of my hand.

"Emmett!" I yelled, wiping my spit covered hand on my jeans.

"Sorry, shouldn't have had your hand on my mouth. The tongue has a mind of its own!" He laughed, while licking his lips and grinning suggestively.

I shook my head at him and drew my hand back to slap him. He laughed and ducked out of the way, running to the living room for safety.

I walked into the kitchen and set the plate of brownies down. "Here's your dinner Emmett!" I said, looking over the counter top which looked out into the living room. I held my arms out as a display for the brownies.

Emmett scrunched his nose in disgust."No way, man! I'm not eating those brownies! Who knows whats in them!" He replied shaking his head vigorously.

"Yeah, me neither." I laughed, pushing the brownies into the trashcan beside the counter.

"Hey, I thought we were going paint balling tomorrow? Now we are going to see mom?" Emmett asked, as I walked into the living room. He was pulling a Xbox controller out from under the TV stand.

Jasper smacked him in the back of the head as as he bent down to grab a controller for himself. "We are going paint balling you idiot. I just said that to get him to go away!"

"Right, I knew that." He replied, nodding his head in understanding.

"Well guys, I'm going to bed. Try to get _some_ sleep, I want a fair game tomorrow!" I said.

"Oh, don't worry Eddie. We can pull an all niter and still beat the crap out of you at paint ball!" Emmett said, giving me a cocky smile.

"We'll see." I laughed, turning down the hall that led to my bedroom.

"Goodnight Eddie-poo!" Emmet yelled in a girly voice. I laughed and slammed the door shut to my room.

_**Review! They help me post faster!**_


	4. Chapter 3: Enrique

AN: OKay, so theres the thrid chapter. I just want to say sorry in advance for certain spelling problems. I didn't know how to spell scwaked...you know like the noise a bird makes? And the spell check on OpenOffice didn't know....so I guessed. Hope yall dont mind!

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **_

Chapter 3: Enrique

_BPOV_

"Come with me, senorita." He purred, holding his hand out for me to take. I hesitantly took it, marveling at how soft his russet color skin was.

"Enrique, where are you taking me?" I asked softly, following him down a dimly lit side walk. It was around sunset, and the streets were glowing a soft orange color.

"To the beach, my love." He replied, gently kissing my hand that he still held. He started to walk a little faster down the street and I struggled to keep up with his long strides.

"But we are in the city." I replied. For a moment I let my gaze wander to the tall buildings around me, I soon realized it was the same street my apartment was on. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, remembering that there was no beach in Seattle, Washington. When I looked back to ask him what beach he planned to take me to, I was surprised to see he was gone. Enrique was nowhere to be found, along with his beautifully white smile and long black hair. All that was left was me and the big deserted city.

"Enrique!" I shouted, spinning around in circles looking for him.

"Bella! Bella!" I heard a hight pitched voice scream. I opened my eyes to see Alice jumping up and down on my bed, staring down at me with excited eyes.

"Enrique?" I murmured, rubbing my eyes to clear my vision. Unfortunately it didn't help, it was still Alice standing over me instead of the handsome Enrique. Only the worse part was that Alice had an evil look on her pixie little face now. I groaned and fell back onto the pillow, letting a few curse words fly from my mouth.

Alice burst into fits of giggles and resumed her bouncing. "Rose! Rose! Bella is dreaming about a guy named Enrique!" She screamed.

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" I asked gloomily, looking up at her little body and large gray wings bouncing up and down in the air.

"Nope!" She giggled, jumping off the bed and running to my closet. "Hurry up and go take a shower, missy! We have a long day ahead of us and I want to start early!"

I groaned, pulling myself up at a sitting position. I stretched my arms over head and my wings out as wide as they could go. "What time is it?" I yawned.

"Seven!" Alice sang, throwing various articles of clothing on the bed near my feet.

"I don't even get to pick out my own outfit?" I asked, walking to the my bathroom.

"Nope, I don't trust you." She replied.

"Oh, yeah. You don't trust me. Because what I wear affects you so much!" I snapped, slamming the door behind me and turning on the shower.

"Well isn't someone grumpy." Alice mumbled in response. Even though the water was running in the shower and she was in the other room, I could still hear her clearly. Sometimes the excellent hearing is convenient to continue conversations, but other times its just embarrassing. Like when you use the bathroom or something along those lines.

After I was squeaky clean, I changed into the clothes Alice allowed me to wear and pulled my wet hair into a messy pony tail. I looked at myself in the mirror and instantly rolled my eyes. Alice was making me wear a plain green tank top underneath a white sleeveless sweater that had a brown belt across the waist, along with my dark skinny jeans. Sometimes I wondered where my free will went. I missed the days when I got to choose what Bella wore. _Boy, weren't those the good days... _I thought to myself, sighing mentally at my misfortune.

"So who is Enrique?" Rosalie laughed as I walked into her apartment (which was three apartments down from mine). She was in the kitchen cooking breakfast which consisted ofeggs, bacon and toast. Another perk of ours is that we eat _a lot. _Probably as much as a teenage boy, which isn't really attractive. But at the same time, we can eat whatever we want and not gain a pound.

"Shut it!" I snapped, pouring myself a cup of coffee. I took my cup of coffee and my plate full of food and sat next to Alice who was already inhaling her food.

"What time is Bingo's appointment?" I asked, biting into my toast.

"We have to leave in like five minutes." Alice replied, it was a little muffled since her mouth was full of food.

"Well thanks for giving me plenty of time to eat." I laughed, chewing my food a little quicker.

"Sorry! Just thought you might want some more time to dream about Enrique!" Alice teased.

I shot a glare her way and attempted to push her off her stool, but she beat me to it by jumping off and heading for the kitchen sink. She stuck her tongue out at me and ran out of Rosalie's apartment.

Once we were done with breakfast, we all met up at the elevator. Alice already having Bingo perched on her shoulder, with a small black leash with metal spikes attached to his ankle (Alice's doing of course). _**(AN: I hate doing this in the middle of the story, but I thought I would say I'm sorry if this part is wrong or stupid. I have never had a bird so I don't know exactly what you do when taking it places..)**_

"Alice, does he really have to wear that thing?" I asked, pressing the elevator button.

"Yes!" She replied, looking at me like I was crazy for asking. "Its for safety!"

"I don't mean the leash. Why the spikes?" I asked.

"They are manly!" She replied, glaring up at me for defying her.

I rolled my eyes at her as the elevator doors opened.

We piled in, all three of us lined against the far wall, Alice in between Rosalie and I. She made us look like giants compared to her pixie self. The elevator started to descend but stopped at the 24th floor, the floor right below ours.

"Please tell me we aren't going to stop at every floor!" Rosalie complained as three guys entered the elevator.

I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous they all were. The first was a tall blond with blue eyes. His hair was messy and hung down in his face. The second was tall and very muscular, with dark curly brown hair. His dimples showed as he grinned widely at us. Or should I say at Rosalie. The last was a tall skinny, (but still muscular) guy with bronze colored hair. It was messy and flew out in different direction. He had the most gorgeous green eyes that I had ever seen. Honestly, I didn't know it was possible for anyone's eyes to be _that_ bright a green. I couldn't help from staring like an idiot.

"Well hello there." The muscular guy purred, grinning at Rosalie. "Where have you been all my life?"

Alice giggled while I just rolled my eyes at him. Rosalie, however, snorted and replied, "Hiding from you."

The tall guy with bronze hair and the blond laughed at their friend that was being shot down by an annoyed Rosalie.

"Well fine." The muscular guy grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and pouting.

It got silent as the elevator dinged, displaying that we had stopped at the 23rd floor. The door opened to reveal an empty hallway. I rolled my eyes and tapped the 'close doors' button a few times. Once the door shut I looked up and caught the gaze of the bronze haired god standing in front of me. He smiled crookedly at me and looked away. I felt all the blood rush to my cheeks as I smiled back. I hated my tendency to blush; it was a curse! Its so embarrassing to know that your face is as red as a tomato, which causes me to blush even more!

"I see dead people!" Bingo scwaked, bobbing his head up and down. I laughed and looked up at him to see he was staring intently at the muscular guy.

All three of the guys laughed at Bingo, causing him to talk more. "Carnage!" He said, dragging our his word to sound eerie like Alice had taught him.

I sighed, burring my face in my hands. I couldn't believe Alice did that! It was embarrassing enough to have a parrot perched on her shoulder but to add to it the bird was saying stupid stuff like 'I see dead people' and 'carnage'.

"Alice, I can't believe you taught him that word!" I said quietly into my hands. She giggled and started to pet Bingo.

"What floor do y'all live on?" The blond asked, smiling at Alice who was standing directly across from him.

"The twenty-fifth floor." She replied, returning his smile. I looked over at the top of the elevator door to see that we were only at the 21st floor. We had now stopped at every floor with no extra passengers.

"What!" The muscular guy boomed, shooting a look of disbelief at all of us. "They told us there was no twenty-fifth floor!"

I laughed at him. "That's because there isn't." I said, smiling innocently at them, "We own the whole floor."

They all gaped at us, shocked at my statement.

"Well isn't that greedy!" He replied, looking at Rosalie for the millionth time in the past two minutes. She just grinned smugly at him.

"We like our heights." She said to him.

"So you need the whole floor!?" He asked.

"We also need our privacy." Alice answered this time.

"You need that much privacy!?" He said loudly.

"Yep!" Alice said, smiling at the blond even though she wasn't even talking to him. Emmet huffed and resumed his pouting.

The elevator stopped at the 19th floor, no one was standing there _again_! I angrily elbowed the 'close doors' button for the fifth time. I looked over at Alice to see she had moved Bingo to her arm. She was happily petting him.

"You're so pretty, Bingo." She whispered to him.

"You named your bird Bingo?" The bronze haired guy laughed. He didn't say it in a rude way, he just sounded amused and disbelieving. I could help the smile that spread across my face as I heard his glorious voice.

"His name was Bingo when we got him." I said, reaching over to pet him.

Alice smiled at the boys before returning to Bingo. "Such pretty wings." She cooed, running her tiny hand over his colorful wings. "Not as pretty as yours though, Bella." She whispered, turning her head to smile sweetly at me. She said it quiet enough that a normal person couldn't hear.

I smiled widely back at her, shaking my head at her remark. She always hated that my wings were pure white and hers were gray. I honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal. We all had wings for goodness sakes! They were pretty no matter what, and its not like anyone could actually see them but ourselves.

I looked up from Alice's face to see all the boys looking from each other and back to us. They all looked confused and shocked, staring straight at me. I felt my cheeks burned from all the eyes staring at me. I couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking and why they were so confused all of a sudden. Had they somehow heard what Alice said?

"I still can't believe we are getting his wings clipped." Rosalie sighed bitterly, folding her arms across her chest. I sighed in relief as she took all the unwanted attention away from me.

"You're what!?" The muscular guy shouted, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "That's preposterous!"

"I know!" Rosalie replied, nodding her head in agreement.

"If someone clipped my wings I would be pissed!" He continued. I whipped my head up to look at him, completely taken by surprise. _His wings?_

"I know! That's what I told them!" Rosalie said. A moment later she realized what they both said and looked around at everyone awkwardly.

There was a few more moments of awkward silence, then everyone burst out in laughter. Although, I couldn't help but notice that it wasn't honest laughter, just awkward and fake.

"Well, I'm Jasper." The blond spoke up, extending his hand out to Alice.

She giggled and placed her tiny hand in his. "Alice." She replied.

"Rosalie." Rose said, putting her hand out to shake Jasper's as well.

He smiled at her and turned to me. "Bella." I said quietly, shaking his hand.

"This meat head over here is Emmet." Jasper laughed, pointing to the muscular guy. "And this is Edward." He finished, pointing at the bronze haired god. Edward smiled at us, nodding his head in a greeting.

The elevator dinged again, opening to the thirteenth floor. Although this time there was a tall white haired man standing there. His hair was buzzed and thin, balding at the top. His pale, wrinkly skin brought out his eerily dark brown eyes. For some reason he looked familiar. Like I had seen him before. So familiar that I could help from staring at him, waiting for some memory to come to me.

The elevator doors closed behind him, he stood in the middle between the boys and us. I continued to stare at him in curiosity, but no names came to mind.

It was silent for the whole elevator ride as I raked my brain for hints or ideas as to where I had seen him before. Every minute passed was just as unsuccessful as the next. I sighed in defeat as the elevator doors opened up to the lobby.

"It's about time!" Rosalie huffed, quickly exiting the elevator.

"Bye guys." Alice sang, smiling sweetly at Jasper. They all mumbled their goodbyes.

I waved at them shyly, trying to keep from just staring at Edward, but failed miserably. He grinned crookedly at me. "Bye, Bella." He whispered.

A shiver ran up my spine as I walked through the lobby to catch up to Alice and Rose. I couldn't help but love the way he said my name. _My god_, he was gorgeous, and on top of his amazingly handsome facial features his voice was that of an angel! Could he have gotten any more perfect?

"Hey, you know that old guy that got in the elevator?" I asked Alice and Rose as we stood on the end of the street waiting for a taxi.

"Yeah, what about him?" Rosalie asked while lifting her hand into the air, trying to get the attention of a taxi.

"Did he look familiar to y'all?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as casual as possible. I didn't want them to know how weird I felt about the guy.

"No, never seen him before." Alice replied, looking at me sceptically.

"Okay." I smiled.

A taxi came to a stop directly in front of us. Rosalie slid in first, followed by Alice and then me last. Rose gave the driver the address to the vet's office.

"Why?" Alice asked after the taxi started to cruise down the busy street.

"Just wondering. He looked familiar to me." I replied, looking out the window to show that it was no big deal to me.

"Well that's good, I thought you were staring at him because you were attracted to him. I never thought you were an older men type of girl, Bella." Rosalie laughed.

I glared and stuck my tongue out at her like a little child. When I rested back into the seat, for some strange reason my mind wandered to Edward. I had only just met him and he was already invading my thoughts. I _really_ needed to get out more!

_Please Review! I need the encouragment! :]_


	5. Chapter 4: The Mike Virus

AN: This isn't one of my favorites....but I had fun writing it. I think I just might have read it to many times...But I hope you like it. I haven't started writing the next chapter yet, so it will maybe be up tomorrow, if not the next day. The chapters I've had up so far are ones I had already written in advance, I just chose to post them once a day. But I promise it wont be longer then 2 days! Review please, they really help me continue and get chapters up quicker. Thanks for the support guys! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I would have used Mike as bait for the battle in Eclipse! Muahahaha.**

Chapter 4: The Mike Virus

_**(EPOV)**_

The guys and I played paint ball for about four hours straight. It was hard for me to do well since my mind kept drifting off to the beautiful woman I met in the elevator. Times like these make me remember how much I don't get out and how little relationships I have been in. Let me clarify that....how I have had _no_ relationship before...._ever. _

Yeah, its beyond pathetic. Of course its understandable in my case, but still very, very pathetic. Even Emmett and Jasper have been in some type of relationship. Well...they have only been out on a single date, but still they have done better then me.

But no matter how hard I tried to push the image of her face from my mind or pry away the memory of her sweet voice, it never worked. It was like it was imprinted into my mind. I tried singing random songs in my head, when that didn't work I tried singing out loud. Jasper and Emmett didn't enjoy that too much. I might be good at making music, but I'm definitely not good at singing.

Finally, after about an hour of no luck, it came to me. The one answer to my struggles to concentrate on anything other then her face: Emmett's annoying jokes and teasing. I never thought the time would come when I was grateful for his annoying jokes. I concentrated on trying to annoy him as much as he has myself so many times in the past. And I'm very proud to say that I succeeded. He eventually stopped trying to get back at my endless comebacks. Surprising, I know...Jasper was even dumbfounded.

I smiled over at Emmett who was currently putting away his rifle which was covered in neon paint. He had been sulking for the past hour, angry by my never ending comebacks to his snide remarks and jokes. I guess he never realize that I didn't try to play his 'games' in the past; he was so surprise that I could beat him at his own game.

"How long you think he'll be like that?" Jasper whispered to me while eying Emmet curiously.

"Not sure. I'd say not very much longer. He can't go that long without talking. He will explode eventually." I replied, laughed as Emmett glared over at me. I smiled smugly over at him, he glared harder in response and gave me the finger.

I laughed and pulled my bag over my shoulder that held my paint ball gun and helmet. Emmett and Jasper did the same as we headed for Emmet's jeep.

"Hey so, what did you guys think Alice meant about Bella's wings?" Jasper asked, as we all threw our bags in the back of the jeep.

"Ha!" Emmet boomed, sliding into the drivers seat. "I'm surprised you even remembered their names! I didn't!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "That's because you're slow, Emmet." I replied.

"Shut it. Your this far away," he held out his thumb and index finger about an inch apart from each other, "from having my foot up your--"

"Hey!" Jasper yelled cutting him off, "Chill man. He's only kidding."

"Whatever." Emmett grumbled, returning his gaze to the street.

"Anyways..." Jasper sighed, "So? What do y'all think?"

"I don't know." I replied, "It could be a joke. Or she could mean Bella's bird's wings?"

Emmett laughed. "Yeah, and Bella would take that as a complement because she created her bird's wings?"

"Good point." I sighed.

"You know we never thought about the possibility of there being others like us." Jasper commented.

"Yeah, but its unlikely. And even more unlikely that they happen to live a floor above us." I said.

"And even more unlikely that they are total babes." Emmett laughed. I rolled my eyes as Emmett pulled into the parking lot for the apartment. We all grabbed our bags and headed for the lobby.

When we stepped through the large gold door to the front of the lobby, my breath caught in my throat at the sight. I had to be the luckiest guy in the world to run into her two times in one day. Yeah, we live in the same apartment complex but still...._very_ lucky.

They were standing near the couches that were placed in a small circle off to the left side of the small lobby. There were three men standing right in front of them talking animately to them. Instantly I felt jealous. Damn...here we go again, me and my lack of female attention. Why would I feel jealous over her simply talking to a guy?

"Ew! Is that Mike?" Emmett said, disgust evident in his voice.

I looked closer at the little huddle of people in the lobby and sure enough it was the vile Mike standing with the girls, along with two other guys I didn't know. When I glanced at the girls, I felt myself burst into hysterics.

Rosalie had her arms crossed over her chest while staring at Mike as if he was the most vile creature alive. She also seemed to be angling her body as far as possible from him without them noticing, as if being near him would make her vomit. Alice was staring up at all three of the guys, switching her gaze from Mike and to his two friends. Her pixie little face was scrunched up in fear, as if she was being sentenced to the death penalty. As for Bella, she had her body angled behind Alice in a shy manner. She was starring down at the floor while fiddling with a piece of her hair. I smiled at how adorable she looked. She was so shy, it made me even more intrigued with her. I could only image what was going on inside that pretty little head of hers.

Jasper laughed as he followed my gaze over to the girls. "Think we should help?" He asked, looking over to me for a response.

"I don't know." I sighed, trying to figure out what the right move would be. We had spent all of our lives trying to stay away from friendships and avoiding getting attached to anyone. Would it be right to interact with them and then ignore them later? The clear answer would be no. And it would hurt me to have to ignore Bella. But then again, it was so tempting just to go save her from Mike the pedophile. Also they wouldn't automatically become attached to us because we saved them, right?

"We could just--" I started to say, but was shut up by the fact that Emmett was already striding towards the girls.

"Emmett!" I hissed, trying to bring him back before he did something that would hurt us all in the end. Of course he didn't care. He just waved the back of his hand at me to shut me up without even so much as glancing back at us.

"Well I guess that's our answer." Jasper laughed, making his way after Emmett.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, while also following Emmett. When I got to them, Emmett was already making trouble.

"Hey baby!" Emmet boomed, attempting to pull Rosalie into his arms. She gave him the death glare while slapping his hands out of the air.

"Do _not_ call me that!" She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Jasper and I laughed at Emmett who looked put out by her rejection. I glanced over Emmett to see Bella staring at me with a hopeful look on her beautiful face. Me, being the loser that I am, couldn't look away. Her gorgeous brown eyes caught me. What surprised me the most is that she didn't look away when I started to stare at her.

"Ah-hem!" I heard someone cough loudly in my ear. I jumped and broke my gaze away from Bella to see Emmett standing rather close to me. He was so close his body was practically pressed against mine. He smirked at me evilly and then turned his head to look at Bella.

"Well, who won the staring contest?" He asked, looking between Bella and I. Bella laughed silently, her cheeks turning a bright red from embarrassment.

"Shut up, Emmett." I growled, pushing him away from me. He laughed at my attitude and started to growl and hiss like a cat, making fun of my snapping at him.

"Hey, Eddie man!" I heard an annoying voice from behind me. I looked at Bella and made a gagging expression before I turned to greet Mike. I heard Bella giggle from behind me.

"Hello, Mike." I said dully, trying my best not to show how much I disliked the guy.

"I'd like you to meet my friends." He said, motioning to the two guys standing behind him. I couldn't help but notice how they looked as if they were flanking him in a defensive manner, as if Mike was their leader or something. "This is Tyler." He continued, point over his left shoulder to a man who seemed to be about his age. He had straight, dark brown hair that was cut into a bowl shape. "And that's Eric." He finished, pointing over his right shoulder to a geeky looking guy with long black hair.

"Hi." I mumbled, mimicking Emmet''s lame excuse for a wave.

"Guys, this is my buddy Edward." He said to the two guys standing behind him. _Buddy?_ We just met yesterday! "He lives next to me."

Eric and Tyler mumbled a greeting and proceeded to walk past me to get to the girls who were standing behind me.

"So you know Bella?" Mike asked, staring behind me at Bella with a look of longing.

"Yep." I replied shortly.

"She's pretty, huh?" He asked in a dazed like manner while stared at Bella. I wanted to slap that stupid grin off his face, knowing that it was put there by Bella. Sweet, innocent Bella who obviously was disgusted by Mike. I also had the urge to say "She's not simply pretty. She beautiful". But of course I couldn't do that, seeing as she was standing right behind me. This only made me dislike him even more.

I growled under my breathe, and shot Mike a glare. He was still staring at her with the disgusting look on his face. I had had enough.

"Mike!" I growled, gently slapping his cheek to turn his gaze away from Bella. He jumped back and stared up at me in shock. "She's a woman, not a piece of meat! It's rude to stare."

"Uh..yeah...I-I know that." He stuttered, scared from the death glare I was currently dealing him. "I was just admiring?"

I rolled my eyes and turned around to see what Jasper, Emmett and the girls were doing. Alice and Bella were standing off to the side whispering to each other, I could probably hear them clearly if I wanted, but I chose to ignore what they were saying and respect their privacy. Rosalie was standing near Emmett laughing at something over his shoulder. I laughed also as I saw Emmett and Jasper talking harshly to Eric and Tyler. They looked completely terrified as Emmett glared at them both while he pounded his fist into his palm.

I walked up to Emmett and place a hand on his shoulder. "Emmett, chill." I laughed. He looked up at me like I was growing another head.

"These numb skulls were--"He started to say, but was interrupted when Jasper nudged him in the side and nodded towards Rosalie, Bella, and Alice.

There he was again. Mike was flirting with the girls again, getting his chance while we were distracted. I growled under my breath and made my way towards them. When I reached them, Mike was just about to reach for Bella, trying to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. I grabbed his hand before he could reach her, while Bella cringed from the almost contact with Mike's contaminated hand.

Bella sighed in relief and gave me a grateful smile. I laughed and released Mike's hand. I decided to take drastic measures to get Mike away from them.

"So - Bella, Rosalie, Alice - did you want to come see the uhh..." I stumbled over my excuse to get them out of the lobby. "You know...that stuff, I- uh, wanted to show you in our new apartment?"

I nodded my head and winked, trying to get them to notice that I was trying to save them. For a moment all the of them stared at me like I was crazy, but then it dawned on them and all their eyes widened in comprehension.

"Oh!" Rosalie breathed, playing along. "Yeah! I remember, did you want to show that to us now?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll show you now!" Emmett purred, winking over at Rose. She glared at him and slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" He whined, "I was only kidding!"

"Right." She said sarcastically.

Alice giggled and squeezed between Emmett and myself to get to Jasper who was standing behind us quietly. She smiled sweetly up at him and took his hand in hers. "Lets go!" She squealed, pulling him towards the elevator.

Bella and Rose instantly took that chance to get away from Mike and his friends, and followed after them. I laughed as they practically ran across the lobby to catch up. Emmett and I followed too, leaving Mike, Eric and Tyler staring at us as we left them in the lobby.

Emmett and I made it to the elevator that Alice was holding open with her tiny arm. We jumped inside quickly as if our life depended on it. And in my opinion, it did.

"Come on! Come on!" Alice squeaked, while she pressed the 'close door' button as fast as her little hand would allow her to.

We all remained silent as we waited for the doors to close. It seemed as if every single one of us were holding our breath. I looked out the still open doors to see Mike and his friends running towards the elevator.

"No!" Alice screamed, pressing the button a little faster. Jasper laughed and proceeded to help her press the button.

"Oh, no." Rosalie breathed as she watched Mike and his friends get closer and closer to the door.

"Oh, God!" Bella squeaked, holding her hands over her mouth in anticipation.

"Yes!" Alice screamed in victory. She proceeded to do her own little victory dance as the doors finally began to closed. I shook my head in disbelief as the doors seemed to close at snail speed. It wasn't going to be fast enough, they were going to make it to the door before it closed.

When the door was about a foot away from being completely closed, a hand shot between it, stopping it from going any further. It slowly reopened to reveal the very people we wanted it to shut out. Mike smiled, as he and his friends stepped inside. He tried to stand in between Bella and me, but I grabbed Bella gently by the shoulder and pulled her closer to me. She giggled and smiled up at me. My heart began to beat at a higher pace at the sight of her beautiful smile.

"Why does God hate me?" I heard Rosalie grumble as she hit her head against the metal wall of the elevator. Eric was standing beside her, just staring at her. I laughed as Emmet glared at him and shoved him away so he could stand beside her.

The elevator dinged as we hit the 16th floor. The doors opened to reveal...come on...you can guess! _Nothing! _Big surprise, huh?

I heard Jasper laugh from across the elevator. I turned to see little Alice stand behind him, hiding from the piercing gaze of Tyler.

As I watched, I suddenly realized something. Mike lived right beside us. We told him that the girls were coming to our apartment to 'look at something'. So if they were in the elevator with us, that meant we had to follow through with our made up plan. I groaned as I smacked the palm of my hand to my forehead. What an idiotic move Edward!

I felt a warm hand pat the side of my arm. I looked over to see Bella smiling up at me. '"It's okay" she mouthed to me, somehow knowing exactly what I was thinking. I sighed in relief, now knowing that she wasn't mad about my attempt to save them.

The elevator dinged once again, showing that we had finally made it to the 24th floor. I heard everyone sigh in relief except for Mike, Eric and Tyler.

We all walked quickly down the hall to our apartment, desperate to get away from Mike and his friends. I quickly stuck the key in the door and turned it. I pushed the door open and ushered everyone inside.

"I'll see you guys around!" I heard Mike shout as I slammed the door behind me. I rested my back against the door and heaved a sigh of relief. I didn't think a human could get as annoying and revolting as Mike. On top of him being one of the few people I loathed, he just happened to live next door. Lucky me!

"You okay there?" I heard a sweet voice say from beside me. I looked over to see Bella smiling up at me.

I laughed. "Yeah, I think I'll make it. As long as I don't get the Mike virus." I said, pushing myself off the door.

"They should make a vaccine for that." She giggled.

We stood in the doorway laughing while I silently prayed I didn't have anything weird lying around the house. It was risky having them in our apartment. It was the one place we didn't have to hide from the world. One little slip up could ruin us. But the only thing that scared me the most was never seeing Bella again.... What had I gotten myself into?


	6. Chapter 5: Risks

AN: Okay, so this isn't one of my favorite chapters.... hope you guys like it, because I didn't. Sorry for the wait too! I was kinda stuck on this one, which is probably why I don't like it. But maybe you will....tell me what you think tho. I've already started the next chapter and I promise it will be better than this! Its in Alice's POV and I'm having fun with it. It will be up in the next couple of days. So enoy and tell what you think. Remember, reviews make me very happy and help update quicker. (Unless for some strange reason I get stuck again.)

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**_

Chapter 5: Risks

_**(BPOV)**_

This is going to end badly. Very, very badly. Just being here in their apartment is a huge risk, but forming a bond or friendship? Thats even worse. Alice, Rose and I are fragile when it comes to being social. These guys are so sweet and funny, its going to hurt us in the end when we have to avoid them.

This situation is exactly why I wanted to live in a secluded area, where no one would be around. I know Alice and Rosalie love living in the city, but isn't this painful enough to want to live somewhere where we don't have to suffer the stress of being discovered or avoiding people we so desperately want to be friends with? _Or more then friends.... _A little voice in the back of my mind whispered.

This is going to suck. Edward is so handsome, kind, and funny! How can I resist when he flashes me that adorable crooked smile? Or when hes so sweet as to save me from the retched Mike Newton. Unfortunately he told me his last name when he was smothering us in the lobby. Honestly, his last name was way more information then I needed.

And above all of that....I feel comfortable around him. I may still blush like crazy, but I feel comfortable speaking up when hes around. Unlike Mike or guys who come into the shop, when they try to talk to me, words just seem to run away from me. I end up looking like a mute idiot. But with Edward, it just seems to come naturally. And that doesn't happen often. Well actually, that has never happened...Why does my life have to be so difficult? Why does everything seem to go wrong? And above all, why does my life suck so bad!? At the following question, I felt my eyes close to mere slits, and my face scrunch up in frustration. I was glaring now, trying to show myself and the world that I hated it! I hated what it did to me! Why does God despise me? What have I done to it, me..._them. _Okay, I think I'm losing my mind now.

"Uh, Bella?" I heard Edward's musical voice from the other side of the living room. I snapped my head up to be met with Edward's gorgeous green eyes.

We were all sitting in their living room, staring around awkwardly. Well it was awkward to me...because everything with me is made awkward. Rosalie, Alice and myself were sitting on one large couch, and the guys were all sitting on the other, directly across from us.

"Yes?" I asked quietly.

"Why do you look like your about to commit a murder?" He asked, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He was amused, and was trying not to laugh.

"Oh!" I replied, surprised that he caught my death glare...which was aimed at myself...and the world...I definitely couldn't tell him that. "I was just...." I trailed off in my lame attempt to keep myself from seeming like a lunatic.

Rosalie laughed from beside me on the couch. I knew exactly why she was laughing, she knew about my tendency to space out and let my emotions show on my face. Maybe I was crazy.... If your crazy, do you know your crazy? Like do crazy people realize they are crazy? Or are they to far gone too realize it? Hmmm.... _I should ask Alice, _I thought evilly to myself.

"Don't mind Bella," Rose spoke up, while gently patting me on the shoulder. "Shes always been the weird one of the family."

I growled under my breath and shot her my best death glare. Alice and Rose always chose me to make fun of, I guess I was the easiest target...Alice was always lovable, not matter what. And Rose was to beautiful to make fun of...so that left me...Plain old Bella, the girl who reads books instead of watching a movie, or the one who spaces out and flies off to la la land...

She laughed at my sorry attempt to make her flinch in fear. I looked over to Edward, expecting him to look at me as if I was a lunatic, but was met with something totally different. He looked....intrigued. He was grinning that wonderful crooked smile of his.

"Thats okay, I tend to do the same thing myself." He turned to look at Rosalie and his expression instantly changed. It was like he wasn't as happy to look at her. He also looked slightly annoyed. He was sticking up for me! I felt like my insides were going to turn to mush at the realization. He was such a sweet guy, why couldn't I be normal enough to be with him!?

"So how long have you guys lived on the twenty-fifth floor?" Emmet asked, directing his question to Rosalie like he always does.

"A couple of years." She replied, smiling at him. Wait! Did she just smile? Oh, no! We are getting in too deep! When Rosalie smiles at a guy, especially someone like Emmet who annoys the crap out of her, it means something big!

Alice notices and leaned around Rose to shoot me a look of pure shock. You see what I mean? This isn't normal for Rosalie. She plays the 'hard to get' card no matter what time it is, no matter who it is, and no matter where. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen her smile genuinely to a guy.

"Where did you move from?" Emmet asked, looking honestly curious in her history.

Rosalie's sweet smile instantly fell to a slight frown. As did mine and Alice's. We were frowning because this question brought back all the tough times in the orphanage. It was hard on all three of us, watching all the children around us get adopted out to families to be loved and taken care of like all children should be. It also made us sad because it reminded us that no one wanted us.

_**Flashback **_

_Rosalie, Alice and I were sitting on a couch that was placed in the 'living room' of the orphanage. We had put on our best clothes for the adults who were about to arrive. The visiting days were only once a month here, so we had to do our best to stand out among all the other kids. We were only fifteen and hadn't ever known what it was like to live in a normal house, with parents who loved you and took care of you. So you could imagine how excited and nervous we were._

"_Oh!" Alice squealed, bouncing up and down in her seat next to me, which caused the whole couch to shake. "I can't wait! I have a feeling this is going to be it!"_

"_Alice..." Rosalie sighed, leaning back to rest her head on the back on the couch, "You say that every time."_

"_I know, but this time I know it will happen!"Alice said, with as much confidence as she could muster up. She was always optimistic, but in this case it was just ridiculous. We had been through fifteen of these visiting days and not one of them brought us any closer to having new parents. In a way, her optimism made it hurt even worse when the day ended and we had not one interested adult. Her optimism didn't really convince us that it was going to happen, but deep down in the back of your mind, it gave you a little hope, just to be crushed when the adults were told that the visiting hours were over._

"_Alice, I hate to burst your little bubble of optimism, but its not going to happen. Everyone wants to adopt younger kids." Rosalie said, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. She was right. We always sat on this very couch to watch the adult enter through the main doors. Every sing time, they smiled at the sight of all the children, then set off to find a little boy or girl to play with. Every single eye of the adults over look us as if we weren't even there. We were invisible because we weren't young and exciting._

"_Don't be a party pooper!" Alice pouted, "Theres no harm in being optimistic."_

"_Alice." I replied, resting my head on her shoulder. "Rose is right. Its not going to happen. And it really does hurt to be optimistic. You get your hopes up for nothing and it makes it hurt even worse when it doesn't happen."_

"_We will see." She said stubbornly, shrugging her shoulders. I rolled my eyes at her even though she couldn't see my face. She was always a stubborn one. Never the one to change her attitude because other people thought differently._

_About fifteen minutes later, it was finally time. We could hear the murmurs from on the other side of the door as the adults waited for their chance to enter. Rosalie, Alice and I instantly straightened up in our seats and put on our best smiles. _

_Days like these always brought back all the worries of previous visits; Will they split us up? Will they be nice people? Will we still have to hide our secret or would they understand? Where would they take us?_

_The most important question was if they were going to split us up. We absolutely refused to be separated. We were our own little family, no matter if we weren't blood related. We all shared a very strong bond with one another. We have all gone through the same things, struggle with the same problems and worries. _

_I would have believed that our wanting to be together stood in the way of getting adopted out, but when not one adult shows interest in you during this time, you cant really believe thats the problem. _

_The wooden double doors slowly opened, and in came a rush of friendly looking adults. Some older and gray, some young and exuberant. The whole group paused for a moment before they chose who to get to know first._

_There was blond haired woman, who seemed to be in her late thirties. When the whole group began to scatter around the room, she stayed in her spot, gazing around the room. When her eyes came in the direction of us, I felt my heart instantly jump to a higher pace. When she looked in our direction, she broke out into a beautiful smile._

"_AH!" Alice squeaked in excitement, once again starting her bouncing. _

_We watched at the woman made her way straight for the couch we were all sitting on, her warm smile never faulting. My fake smile instantly turned to a honest grin. This was the farthest we had ever gone since being here in the orphanage. Its sad when you realize that the woman hadn't even spoken to us yet and still it was the farthest we had gotten. _

"_Oh. My. God." Rosalie breathed, still smiling at the woman. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it in anticipation, "Is this really happening?"_

_As she finally stopped in front of us, I found myself bouncing as well at the small shred of hope. This could be it, we could be getting adopted! _

_She smiled down at us. "Hi." She greeted us._

"_Hi!" Alice squeaked, instantly putting her hand out for the woman to shake. She took it hesitantly, then looked over our shoulder at something that made her grin even wider._

_The woman bent down to eye level and spoke quietly to us. "I hate to bother you guys. But whats that cute little boys name over there?" She asked, point over our shoulder at something._

_My smile instantly faltered and my heart felt as if it was going to stop beating. She wasn't here to talk to us about ourselves, she was here to ask about another child in the orphanage._

_I reluctantly looked over my shoulder to see where she was pointing while trying my best to keep the tears from forming in my eyes. I followed where her finger was pointing and saw a little boy sitting in the corner playing with his plastic fire truck. Jamie was his name. He really was a cute kid. Sweet too, actually. He was my favorite out of them all. I smiled at the thought of him being able to have a mother who loved him. He deserved it more then we did._

"_Jamie." I said softly, afraid that my voice would break. "His name is Jamie."_

"_Oh!" The woman cooed, "He. Is. Adorable." _

"_Yep, sure is." I sighed, turning back around in my seat. I kept my gaze down on my lap, afraid that she would see my newly formed tears and slight frown._

"_Thanks, guys!" She said joyously and walked around the couch to Jamie._

_As soon as she was out of sight and hearing rage, I let the tears and quiet sobs out. I looked over to Alice to see her sobbing quietly herself, tears streaking down her pixie face. Rosalie however, had no emotion playing on her face whatsoever. She looked lifeless, like she had just dazed out and was thinking of absolutely nothing. _

"_I don't understand!" Alice sobbed, turning towards me in her spot to bury her face between my shoulder and the couch. "What is wrong with us!"_

_I couldn't answer. Her question sent a whole new wave of tears streaming down my face. This was the most hurt I had felt in a long time. For the few moments that the woman seemed to look at us with joy in her eyes, I had believed that we would finally be able to get out of here and live a normal life. And when she asked me about another child, I felt as if she literally taken a knife and stabbed it into my heart. I wondered if she even realized what she did._

"_Nobody wants us." Rosalie said in the most bitter tone I had ever heard her speak in. It sent shivers up my spine and caused more tears to form in my eyes. "Just get used to living here until we are legal adults."And with the she stood up quickly and stomped out of the room. _

_She was right though. We weren't wanted. When your in an orphanage which is full of kids ten years old and younger, other then yourself, you seem to be looked over. _

_I sniffed at my now runny nose and turned to hug Alice with as much strength as possible. She sobbed into my shoulder and squeezed me as tight as she could with her little arms. We could get through this. All we had to do was lean on each other. We were our own family, we didn't need parents to make that possible._

_**End of Flashback**_

Pain instantly coursed through my heart. The memory of the long four years in the orphanage was painful. I was instantly afraid of what we should say and if we could hold ourselves together while we were brought back to the memory of those torturous years.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried. You don't have to answer." Emmet said softly, realizing by our instant change in mood that it was a touchy subject.

"No, no. Its okay." Alice's said quietly. I could hear the small amount of pain and sadness in her voice. Jasper was staring across at Alice with a painful look on his face as if he could feel her pain.

"It just wasn't a happy time." I spoke up. I cursed myself when my voice cracked just a smidge. Anyone would have notices. I hated feeling weak and was instantly angry by the fact that I let my weakness show. "An orphanage. We were in an orphanage." I finished quickly, falling back in my seat angrily and turned my gaze to anything but the people around me. I could almost feel the burning gaze from Edward who had been all too quiet through the whole conversation.

"We never got adopted out. So once we turned eighteen, we left."Alice said.

"I'm sorry." Jasper said sweetly, never looking away from Alice's face.

It got quiet for a few moments. It was beyond awkward. The whole orphanage thing really brought a damper on our conversation. A conversation we shouldn't have been having in an apartment we shouldn't even be in.

"Guys, we need to go." I spoke quietly so that only they could hear me while still looking away from everyone.

"Well, we should go. We all have work tomorrow." Rosalie sighed, standing up from the couch.

When we all made it to the front door of their apartment, Alice took Jasper into a tight hug without the slightest bit of hesitation. I smile up at Edward who had come to stand next to me, still as quiet as ever.

"Thanks for saving me from Mike." I whispered to him, as the others said goodbye to each other.

"My pleasure." He grinned crookedly down at me. After a moment of being caught up in his eyes, his smile faltered as his thoughts obviously wandered to something that made him upset

"Are you okay? You seemed kind of upset earlier." He asked quietly. He stared down at me with a worried expression. His hand came up as if he was going to brush his hand across my cheek or move a stray hair, but he seemed to catch his action and covered it up my rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I lied, trying to keep the frown off my face. In truth, I felt horrible inside. I had kept all those emotions and memories packed away in the back of my mind. Now that they were all reappearing, I felt the old wounds reopen.

He gave me a sad smile and then opened his mouth to say something but closed it again as if deciding not to say anything.

"It was nice talking to you. I'll see you around?" I asked.

"Of course." He smile, "I'll talk to you later."

I frowned at the thought of there never being a later. Honestly, I shouldn't let there be. It wasn't right for me to lead him on. He was such a great guy, he deserved someone better then myself. Already deep down it hurt to stay away from him, and I was only _thinking_ about staying away from him!

"Bye, Jazzy!" Alice sang, while grabbing my hand and heading out the door to the hall. I gave one finally wave to them all and we all headed down the hall to the apartment.

As soon as we were in the elevator, Alice let out an ear piercing scream. I instantly slapped my hands over my ears to stop them from bleeding.

"Alice!" Rosalie snapped, "Are you trying to make me go deaf?"

"I'm sorry Rose! I'm just so happy!" She sang, while skipping around the elevator. The whole elevator began to shake as her little movements got quicker and more bouncier. I quickly clasped my hand on the rail, completely terrified.

"Alice!" I shouted, "Stop it! Your shaking the elevator! You know how that scares me!"

She giggled and stopped running around the elevator. "Jazz is so sweet and handsome and funny and kind and caring and --"

"Okay!" I snapped, "I think it got the picture! He's great."

"Whats got your panties in a bunch, Bells?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at me.

"We shouldn't be doing this!" I replied, now nearly shouting. I was completely irritated and angry. Irritated because I wanted so badly to be friends with Edward, Jasper and Emmet. And angry because it didn't matter how much I wanted to be friends with them, it couldn't be. We had our rules, why change them now?

"Oh, come on Bells!" Alice begged, "You know deep down that its possible to have friends! You are just scared someone will find out our secret! We all are..."

"Yeah, but are you seriously going to stand there and tell me that you and Jasper are just going to be just friends? Being friend and being in a relationship are two very different levels. Do you not understand that if you get in a relationship, he will be around more? That he will ask you about all your little secrets? And when you start to act secretive he will try and figure out what your hiding!"I countered. I felt a smile form on my lips. She couldn't deny anything I said, and she knew it.

Her smile, which was most likely put there by Jasper or the thought of being with Jasper, instantly fell. She then poked her lower lip out in a little pout. But behind her pout, I saw the real pain behind her eyes. She knew I was right, and even though we hadn't formed friendships or relationships with the boys, it was already hurting us to stay away from them.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to our level. We walked down the long hall of apartment doors, I stopped in front of mine which was just outside the elevator.

"But can't we just try! We have never really tried. If it doesn't work out then we can just break it off right?" She asked, a small sliver of hope hidden in her eyes. "Tell her Rose!"

We both looked over to Rose to find her staring off into space, a small smile formed on her glossed lips. She didn't even hear her name be called.

"Earth to Rose!" Alice screamed, clapping her hands in front of Rose's face. She jumped and looked around her as if she forgot where she was.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She asked, looking between Alice and I.

Alice giggled and proceeded to bounce up and down. "Rose is day dreaming about Emmet!" She sang.

For the first time _ever_ in her entire life, Rose broke out in a blush. Alice and I gasped and stared at Rosalie with wide eyes.

"Oh, gosh!" Alice breathed, "Rosalie is blushing! Who knew that was even possible!"

"This is bad." I sighed, shaking my head in disbelief.

"I'm sorry!" Rosalie squeaked, hiding her face in her hands. "Hes just so cute! And funny! And his muscles!" She removed her face from her hands and began to fan herself with her right hand while grinning widely.

"Oh, Rose has it bad for Emmet!" Alice giggled.

"Look whose talking, Alice! Your the one--" Rosalie started to say, but I cut her off. I was tired and frustrated about my argument with Alice. But on top of my frustration, I felt pain. Pain at the fact that my argument was strong. I would win in the end, and thats what made me upset. I really didn't want to stay away from the boys, but deep down, my mind knew it was the right thing to do. For them and for us.

"Alice, do you actually think that you could start a relationship with Jasper and then just end it because they get too suspicious?" I asked seriously, tilting my head to the side, waiting for her reply.

She stopped grinning and sighed. "I know Bella, I just really like him. I mean it just feels natural. And I have a good feeling about this, you know? Like its all meant to work out..."

I frowned. Alice always had these 'feelings' about certain things. Like when we were looking for an apartment, she stopped right in front of this apartment complex and said 'This is it girls. This is where we are going to live'. By then, we were somewhat acquainted with Alice's 'feelings' about stuff, so we went along with it. So when we met the little old woman that owned the place, we weren't surprised when we stroke a deal with her to get us the whole twenty-fifth floor. She was having a hard time renting out some apartments and she needed some extra money to help renovate so she could get herself back on her feet. So we told her we really needed our privacy, surprisingly she didn't ask why, and suggested that we buy the whole floor so that she could have the money quickly.

"But Alice, this is big. What if your wrong? We could really get hurt, and so could they." I sighed and frowned down at her.

"When have I ever been wrong?" She asked, flashing be an evil grin.

"Okay, I'll tell you what." I replied, "We will see how things go without trying. We will see if it is meant to be. So that means no working out times to 'accidentally' run into them, no calling them unless they give you their number, nothing of that sort. Got it?"

"Yes!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Alice you better be right about this." Rosalie said, giving her daring look. "I'm not going to have my heart trampled over because you lie about having a 'feeling' because you just want your fun with Jasper."

Alice rolled her eyes and started slowly walking backwards towards her apartment, keeping her eyes on both of us. "You guys will see. Don't bet against Alice." She said cockily, grinning at us before turning and running to her apartment.

"Oh stop frowning, Bella." Rosalie said, "Not even you cannot be happy about the chance of seeing Edward again."

I tried my hardest to keep a smile from forming on my lips, but it was no use. Just the thought of seeing him again made me grin goofily. I bet I looked like a sick puppy right about now.

"I knew it! You have it just as bad as us!" Rosalie said, laughing and pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Whatever." I mumbled, now glaring at her. "Goodnight, Rose!"

With that I turned around and unlocked my apartment door.

"Goodnight Belly-Bear!" Rose shouted to me from halfway down the hall, on her way to her own apartment. "Have sweet dreams about Eddie-poo!"

"Ugh!" I huffed and slammed the door open. I left all the lights off on my apartment and went straight for my bedroom. I took off my tennis shoes and flopped into bed fully clothed. It wasn't really that late, somewhere around nine or ten o' clock in the evening, but I was dead tired. All the excitement of the day had drained me. Of course I wasn't complaining, I wouldn't mind being drained when I get to see Edwards gorgeous crooked smile.

_**Review! :]**_


	7. Chapter 6: His Buns

AN: A week! I'm so sorry guys, I've just been so busy. Please don't bite me....unless your Edward...Anyways, hope you like this chapter, I had a lot of fun with it. I'm the total oposite of Alice so don't hate me if its over done or under done. I just did the best I could. And I named this chapter His Buns because thats what my sister wanted me to name it. It was either that or Prada, and His Buns was just more funny. Ashleybrooke1415 is my sister, and she has helped me a lot with all the funnies in the chapters, so a special thanks to her. And thanks to everyone else. Y'all are the best.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, would I be writing fanfictions?**

Chapter 6: His Buns

_**(APOV)**_

On most occasions, working on Sundays would make me absolutely furious with my boss. But today, I wasn't at all upset about having to work when I could be at my apartment either reorganizing my closet or riding randomly up and down the elevator waiting for Jasper to appear. No, I was okay with working today. Why? Because we are having a major sale! And when we have sales....I get first dibs on the best deals because I see them first and because I get an employee discount! If I see what I like while putting things away and helping customers I just grab it and go hide it in my secret spot in the store. I would tell you where that was...but then I'd have to kill you. No, seriously, I would.

_Anyways, _as I was saying. Today is a good day. I have the big sale today at my work to make me happy and on top of that happiness, I have the giddiness from yesterday with Jasper. And since I'm naturally hyper and happy, you can just imagine how I may act with all the extra giddiness.

I was acting so happy and loopy that my boss actually asked me if I was on drugs when I checked in. I would have taken it as an insult if I wasn't so happy. So I just grinned at her evilly and giggled a 'maybe'. Now I know, thats not something I should have said to my boss, but she has known me for a very long time and knows that I would never do something so lame like drugs. _Hugs not drugs_ is what I always say!

Then I got in trouble by my boss for scaring the costumers. Now how can my giddiness scare the costumers you may ask. Well it could be the fact that I was literally vibrating with excitement as I check them out at the register, or the fact this I squealed at every low price that showed up on the screen as I scanned their purchases. I guess I can see how that could scare people...

I had just finished checking out an old lady who bought an ugly pair of shoes that cost her way to much and was now standing behind the counter, standing as still as possible. I literally felt as if my body was going to explode. I had been trying for the past minute to stay still for as long as possible, but I swear it physically hurt!

"Uh, Alice." My coworker Ashley spoke quietly to me as if I was very fragile at the moment. When in reality, I really was. She was sitting on the counter by the cash register staring at me with worry in her eyes. "Did you know your turning purple?"

I didn't answer, I was trying my best to break my own record of five minutes without saying anything or moving. I didn't know how I had done it last year, it was practically torture right now, and I had only hit two minutes!

"Alice, that cannot be good for your health." She laughed. She jumped off the counter and stood straight in front of me, just begging me to break.

She gave me an evil grin, which signaled that she was now making it her goal to break me from my stand still. She then began to bounce in place right in front of me while everyone around us stared at us like we were loony.

She stopped her bouncing when she realized it wasn't breaking me and started to tap her finger to her chin. Her gaze then fell down to my neatly ironed pink polka dotted blouse. "Oh my God, Alice!" She squeaked, pointing a manicured finger at a spot on my blouse. "You have a stain on your shirt!"

I felt my whole body twitch slightly when she said this. My body always worked before my mind, and my body obviously knew that a stain was a very bad thing. Strange, I know, but what can I say? I've trained it well.

I took a very slow breath to calm myself. I knew she was lieing about the stain, but it was torture not knowing for sure.

She sighed, resting her hands on her hips in determination. "Ahh!" She screamed quietly, looking at something over my shoulder. "Alice, Alice! There is a woman wearing a floral floor length skirt with a polyester vest!"

This time I squeaked slightly, but made no move to turn around or talk. I kept my eyes straight ahead and prayed to God that she was lieing about what the woman was wearing.

"Oh, Oh! You squeaked!" Ashley laughed, pointing her little finger at me.

I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze just a smidge to see the clock on the register. It was now four minutes!_ Just one more minute Alice, you can do it! _A little voice chanted in my mind.

"Oh, God..." Ashley breathed, I turned my eyes but not my face to look at her. She had a dazed look on her face and pure shock in her voice. She was looking at something over my shoulder, so I couldn't see. But just from her expression I felt like I was on the very edge of breaking. What did she see! She better not be playing with me this time!

"Alice..." She breathed, still looking all dazzled. "There is a tall, handsome blond haired man in the shoe section looking at a very,_ very_ nice pair of Prada shoes!"

I squeaked louder this time, and almost broke but then I realized that she _had_ to be lieing. She just wanted me to lose! That was pure evil if you asked me.

"And, oh gosh." She continued, now fanning herself with her hand. "He looks like he knows what hes looking for!"

"Ah!" I squeaked, and spun around to face the shoe section. I searched around, determined to find him. I had lost my record for the longest I can stand still, he had better be there at the Prada rack in all his glory!

And sure enough, as my gaze came to the Prada section, I saw a tall male figure standing there. His back was to us, so all I could see was his very muscular shoulders and messy blond hair. While ogling his very nicely shaped buns as well, I felt as if he looked familiar.

While we both stared at his backside in amazement, I shoved my elbow into Ashley's ribcage. "I loath you, I hope you know that." I growled, "You made me lose! I was trying to break my record!"

"Ouch!" She whined, and started rubbing her side where my elbow made contact with her ribs. "You know you would have killed me if I _didn't_ tell you!"'

"True." I replied, nodding my head in agreement. She was right. If later today she told me she 'forgot' to tell me about the gorgeous man who knew what he was looking for in a Prada shoe, I would have pummeled her.

I gasped audibly as the blond man bent over to put the shoe on his foot, giving us a perfect view of his tush.

"Sweet, Jesus." Ashley breathed as we both tilted our heads to the side to get a different view.

After a few moments of pleasurable viewing, he straightened up to a standing position, grabbed his box with the shoes inside and turned around. He saw both Ashley and I staring at him and gave us a beautiful grin. And thats when I got a clear look at his face.

"Ah!" I screamed, and spun around in embarrassment.

I couldn't believe it! It was Jasper! My Jasper. I was just ogling over Jasper's butt as he was shopping. I felt my cheeks burn in a pure Bella moment. How embarrassing...I would never be able face him now.

Because of this, I couldn't be amazed at the fact that fate had him come into the store on the exact day I worked. This was exactly what I was telling Bella last night; it was meant to be. But right now I couldn't be happy about it because he had just caught me staring at him.

I looked over my shoulder to see Ashley still staring dizzily at Jasper. I pinched her on the arm lightly. "Stop staring at Jasper!" I snapped, a little mad that she was openly ogling him.

"You know him!" She shouted, turning to me with disbelief in her face.

"I did. I don't know if I do anymore after he caught me staring at his butt!" I snapped, glaring up at her.

"You lucky girl." She sighed, shaking her head with a look of admiration etched on her face.

"How! I'm so embarrassed!" I said sadly, hiding my face in my hands.

"Oh stop it, Ali!" She replied, grabbing my wrists and pulling my hands away from my face. "Its not that big of a deal. I bet it helped his ego. And what guy doesn't like a girl who boosts his ego?"

I frowned up at her and shook my head disbelieving.

"Look, hes still shopping." She said, jerking her head towards Jasper. "Why don't you go say hello."

I groaned, lazily letting my head lop to the side to look at Jasper. He was still looking through the shoe rack, not looking at all like he didn't know what he was looking for. I guess it would be rude not to say hello. And it was obviously meant to be.

"Okay." I sighed, and made my way to the waist height door behind the counter. But a thought came to me and I instantly ran back to Ashley.

I peered down at my blouse, searching frantically for any stains. "Is there really a stain on my shirt!?" I asked frantically, looking up at her with terrified eyes. If there was a stain, I wasn't stepping one single foot away from this register.

"No, Alice." Ashley laughed, while gently pushing me towards the little door. "I was lieing. Now go get your man."

I heaved a sigh of relief and let her push me through the little door. "Okay." I said confidently, straightening my spine to get as much height as possible at my small size of five feet.

"Can I help you find anything, sir?" I asked, as soon as I made it to Jasper.

"Why yes, ma'am." He replied, grinning and tipping his head forward. "Do you have this in a size 10?" He held up a nice pair of Prada tennis shoe, which was one of our newest and most popular one.

I grinned even wider, completely dazzled by his sense of style. In the back of my mind, I wondered how this man was not taken or how he was even real! I mean hes beyond gorgeous, polite, has an amazingly sculpted tush, and now he knows how to shop!? I felt like my mind was working on overload at the realization of just how perfect he was.

"Oh!" I squealed, "That's my favorite design by them! But I think we just sold the last one. It's very popular."

"Oh."He frowned and put the shoe back on the display. I frowned up at him, too. But then when I looked back at the shoe he had been holding, it came to me. That was the exact shoe I hid away in my secret stash! Oh, oh! And I believe it was a size ten.

I gasped out loud, and looked up at him with hope in my eyes. "I think I know where I can find one!" I squealed. Rushing up to him excitedly, I grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the direction of my secret hiding place.

He laughed as we weaved through the womans clothing racks. "Alice, where are we going? If there are shoes, wouldn't they be in the shoe section?"

"Nope!" I said, popping the 'p'. "Just trust me. I know this store like the back of my hand!"

I weaved through some more clothes and finally came to the very far side of the store where not a lot of people looked. I stopped in front of the clutter of racks that were pushed into the corner and dropped his hand.

"Okay, now you can't let anyone, I repeat _anyone_, know where this is. This is super top secret, okay?" I asked him, while looking over his shoulder and to the left and right, checking to see if the coast is clear.

He chuckled lightly, and I felt my heart skip a beat when my ears heard the glorious sound. "Okay, I wont tell anyone. But where are we?"

"My secret stash!" I giggled and turned around towards the clutter of clothes hanging from two racks that were pushed closely together.

I took a deep breath, readying myself to dive into the tightly packed clothes. I pushed aside some shirts and stuck the whole top half of my body through the racks, and BAM! There it was, all the treasurable items I found too amazing to let go of.

"Hmm." I mumbled to myself, looking around at the neatly folded clothes and boxes. Now where had I put those shoes?

I searched around for a few moments and then spotted the edge of a black box hidden under the adorable blue lacy underwear I was planning to buy for myself. I snatched the underwear up and pulled them behind my back so that Jasper could take them.

"Here Jazz, hold this. I think I found 'em." I said.

I heard him take a deep breath and gently take the panties from my hand. "She's trying to kill me." I heard him breath, but I didn't respond because it was too low for a normal person to hear. I definitely didn't want him getting suspicious and have Bella scream 'I told you so' over and over for the rest of my life.

I returned my attention to large black box, and flipped it open with one flick of my finger. And there it was, the very stylish tennis shoes by Prada. I smiled happily as the new shoe smell met my sensitive nose. That smell was like heaven. I would wear it as perfume if it was possible!

"Ah- ha!" I breathed, and quickly put the lid back on. "Gotcha!"

I pulled out from the little opening in the rack and handed Jasper the shoe box in exchange for the underwear. I shoved the underwear back into the opening—not before appraising them in front of Jasper—and turned to Jazz to give him a victorious smile.

He chuckled nervously, still not over the panties incident. "As much as I am grateful for you finding me the shoes I wanted, but do you mind me asking why you had _men's _shoes in your secret stash?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I raised my own eyebrow and gave him a sly grin. "I would answer that _if_ I had a reasonable explanation, but since I don't..." I trailed off, looking away ashamed of my shopping problem.

I sighed and looked back up at him. "I have a shopping problem, okay? Bella has tried numerous times to get me into a Shopaholic's Anonymous, but I refuse!"

Bella is the only one who seems to think I should seek help. But if I'm not up to my eyebrows in debt or anything, whats the big deal? Almost all of it is reasonable purchases, except for maybe the time I bought a very cute dog house...when we don't have a dog. But still! Its no big deal...Rose has no problem with it.

"I wouldn't either. Its an intriguing quality. Just makes you even more irresistible." He replied seriously, smiling fondly down at me.

I smiled back up at him and felt my cheeks begin to burn with the blood that rushed to my face. I mentally slapped myself for letting that happen. What was he doing to me? No one has ever made me blush, I'm way too confident to blush. But my mind just kept rolling over his last words_ 'even more irresistible',_ which made me blush harder. No one had ever said anything like that to me. Me! Alice Hale, the short pixie with way to much energy. Honestly, I didn't know I could be irresistible.

"Thanks." I replied, giving him a smug smile. "Well, lets go ring you up."

I turned away from Jasper, heading towards the cash register, making sure to swing my hips a little bit more then usual. I silently prayed that I didn't look like I was trying too hard or making myself look like a total nincomepoop.

Jasper followed silently behind me and when we made it to the cash register, he placed the shoe box on the counter. I slipped behind the counter, trying my best to ignore Ashley who was sitting on top of the counter a few feet away, grinning like an idiot.

"Go Alice!" I heard her whisper lightly, low enough for Jasper not to hear. It was still really quiet, probably quiet enough that she wouldn't have heard it if it was me saying it. But Ashley knew about my very good hearing and she thought nothing of it. I was glad she didn't either, because to many times I have slipped up around her with my super hearing. Shes just not very perceptive.

I growled under my breath at her and turned to her, the laser gun you use to ring up prices firmly grasped in my hand, and pretended to shoot her with it. She gasped and clutched her chest, as if she was literally shot in the chest, and fell back, knocking over a few items sitting on the counter.

"You shut it!" I hissed before turning back to Jasper who was chuckling on the other side of the counter. "Anyways." I sighed.

"So I was wondering." Jasper started while leaning forward with his hands resting on the edge of the counter. "As much as would I love to ride up and down the elevator, waiting for you to show. I was wondering if I could get your number so I wouldn't have to."

I felt my heart skip a beat at his request. I knew it! I just knew it! There was no doubting me now. All the proof that this was meant to be was right there in front of me. He just happened to come to the store I work in, ask for the same shoe I decided to hide in my stash, in the exact size, and ask for my number instead of_ me_ asking _him. _

I grinned widely at him and nodded my head vigorously. I wasn't going to speak right now. I was practically bursting with so much excitement that I was sure it would only come out as excited squeak.

I put his shoes in a bag after he paid and he handed me his phone to enter my number in. I flipped it open and placed my number in with a smiley beside it.

"Text me so I have your number." I said.

"Will do." He smiled at me and grabbed his bag. "I'll see you around, Alice."

"Bye, Jazz." I sighed dreamily, giving him a small wave as he left.

"Oh, lordy!" Ashley sighed from behind me as she also watched Jasper leave. "Please tell me your going to persue him! If you don't I will!"

I held back a growl that tried to surface through my chest as she said that. There was no way I was letting her anywhere near him. I may not have a lot of experience with guys, but it can't be that hard, right?

"I intend to." I said firmly, then turned on my heals to see a long line of people forming on Ashley's side of the counter. "'Ey! Look! You have customers! Now go!" I snapped, turning her by the shoulders and slapping her on the butt to get her going.

"Fine, fine!" She replied, jumping in surprise as my hand collided with her butt. "So pushy!"

I heard the familiar low beep and vibrate (which made me jump slightly in surprise)of my phone that was placed expertly inside my bra. I smiled to myself, hoping that it was from Jasper.

"Bathroom break!" I sang, as I ran off into the direction of the bathrooms.

"Yeah,yeah." I heard Ashley sigh grumply.

Once in the safety of a stall in the very back of the public bathrooms, I pulled my phone from my bra and opened it. On the screen it read 'New Text' and a number I didn't recognize.

_Hope to talk to you soon. I'll talk to the guys tonight, _

_and maybe we can all get together?_

_-Jazz_

I felt the goofy grin spread across my face, something that was happening too often lately, as I thought about what he said. Oh, the girls are going to freak when I tell them how much fate has it in for the guys and us being together. This just confirms that my motto is so true; Never Bet Against Alice.

Review please! :]


	8. Chapter 7: Tattoo

AN: A quicker update, so yay! Thank you guys for all the reviews, I'm glad you all like it so far. I never thought I would get that many reviews....even tho 41 isn't a lot, it is to me! Its kinda scaring me tho... I'm scared I'll let y'all down! I mean this is only my second fanfic/story written EVER. And I just hope you guys don't hate me if this goes in a way you don't like or something. Anyways, this chapter is more of a filler, nothin too exciting and none of the boys are in it :( sorry! I didn't want to keep puting the word **_Flashback_**, was getting kinda too...whats the word? cheesy? dumb? haha. So flashbacks are just italics. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

Chapter 7: Tatoo

_**BPOV**_

Sunday 5:45 p.m.

"Thomas." I sighed, stopping directly in front of the little boy that sat in the corner of my store reading a X-Men comic book. "Why don't you just buy it and go read it at home? Shouldn't your mom be worried where you are?"

He sighed and set the comic book down on his lap to peer up at me, giving me an annoyed expression. "Why would I buy it when I can just sit here and read it for free?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"Because this isn't a library." I sighed, placing my hands on my hips in a stern manner.

"Are you going to kick me out?" He asked, frowning and sticking out his quivering bottom lip.

My stern posture instantly melted at his adorable little face. Oh, why did I have to be such a sucker for little kids? Just seeing how he could turn me as soft as puddy just by sticking out his lower lip, made me glad I would never have kids. If I did, they would be spoiled brats. They would find out my weakness and use it on me like a weapon of mass destruction. Evil little creatures if you ask me.

I let out an exhausted breath and slumped down to the floor right across from him. "No I'm not going to kick you out." I said glumly, crossing my legs Indian style and resting my elbows on my thighs.

"Good." He said quickly, smiling instantly as if he wasn't about to cry. Oh, that little bugger. He did that on purpose. See? They are already out to get me!

"But where's your mom? Shouldn't she be worried as to where you are? I mean you come in here every weekend and read comic books all day..." I said, trailing off as I raised an eyebrow at him for an explanation.

"Uh..." He mumbled awkwardly, shifting in his position between two tall bookshelves. "She works on weekends. And I live just a block from here. I get bored and come here to read."

"Okay. I guess it's better your here then at the park by yourself or something." I replied, mostly talking to myself. "Well buddy. I'm going to close up now. It's almost six, so you should be getting home."

"Dang!" He pouted, shutting the comic book and standing up sluggishly. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"No problem." I laughed as he began to shuffle his way towards the front door.

I rolled my eyes at his reluctance to leave, and grabbed the comic book he was just reading. "Hey!" I called to him. He stopped and turned around, questioning me with his eyes. I took a few steps and threw the comic to him. "Bring it back next weekend, okay? Unscathed!"

He grinned widely and nodded quickly as he ran out the front door. I smiled as I watched him leave. The silence was so peaceful that I found myself standing there quietly, letting my eyes close as I listen to the faint sounds coming from outside.

"That was nice of you." Came a deep voice from beside me. My reaction was something I couldn't help at the moment. Frankly, the voice sounded familiar in an uneasy way. I screamed and turned around, slapping my hand over my mouth as I found the still figure standing slightly behind a book shelve.

He smiled innocently at me and stepped closer. Unconsciously I took a step back, even though I knew he wasn't going to hurt me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You of all people should have heard me when I came in." He said, smiling at me like we where best friends.

It was the old man that lived in our apartment building. The one I thought looked familiar. He seemed nice enough, but being here in the store with only him made me slightly uneasy. And his comment was a little strange. What did he mean me of all people should have heard him?

"No, it's perfectly okay. I just didn't expect anyone to be here. I'm about to close up for the night." I said as friendly as I could. I didn't want him to see how uneasy I was with his presence.

"Oh, then I guess I should be going." He sighed, walking past me towards the front door.

"Wait." I called, taking a few steps towards him. "Did you need help with something? Before I close up?"

He smiled, placing his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, and looked off into the distance, a far away look on his face. He thought for a moment, then looked back up to meet my gaze. "No thanks. Was just looking around." He said quietly, then nodded his head in a goodbye manner and left.

I stood still, listening to his light foot steps fade down the street. Another reason I enjoyed having great hearing. I wanted to make sure he left, and didn't linger around my store until I left. Even though I know for a fact I could defend myself, it wasn't something I wanted to risk.

I shook my head lightly to clear my train of thought and went about my routine of locking up the store. The whole time my thoughts wandered to the past: Moving into the new apartment, growing up in the orphanage, and the first time I learned what I was. Well not exactly _what_ I was...but what I was _capable_ of.

_My eyes fluttered open, but quickly closed from the blinding overhead lights. I shifted slightly in my laying position and heard the faint sound of fabric sliding over fabric. I could feel the soft blanket lightly placed over half my body and the stiffness of a mattress under me. There was a slight aching in my back, right between my shoulder blades and spine, along with a massive head ache._

_I kept my eyes closed, afraid of what I might see. I had no memory of getting here- wherever _here_ was anyways. After a few moments, I heard the noise of feet padding against tiled floor. The noise got louder as the moments passed, getting closer and closer to where I lay. I took a deep breath and tried my best to appear sleeping. _

"_When is she going to wake up!" I heard a low whisper from beside my bed. _

"_I don't know, but she needs to quickly before they get back." Came another whisper, but this time it came from the other side of the bed._

_I heard an annoyed sigh from beside me and then the next thing I know, a hand was being slapped onto the pillow beside my head, making me jump slightly and open my eyes._

_I looked up to see two girls peering down at me. One had short, spiky black hair with dark brown eyes. The other was a blond haired girl with light blue eyes. They both smiled widely at me, relief evident in their eyes._

"_Well that was easy." The pixie with black hair giggled, smiling down at me. _

"_Where am I?" I asked, pulling myself up slightly, resting on my elbows._

"_In a hospital." The blond replied._

"_I'm Alice." The girl with spiky hair sang, extending her little hand out to me. I gave her a skeptical look and shook her hand._

"_And I'm Rosalie. But you can call me Rose." The blond said with a little less enthusiasm. _

_I smiled at them, while rolling my shoulders uncomfortable as the aching in my back got worse. Flipping the blanket off my legs, I jumped off the bed as Alice and Rose came to stand in front of me. They were the same height as myself, so I was guessing we where all about the same age. _

"_So whats your name?" Alice asked. _

"_Uhm..." I breathed, looking around the white room that had various machines placed by each bed. I thought for a moment, searching for a memory that would tell me what my name was. "Bella." I whispered, looking up at them in surprise by my own reply. It was the first name that came to mind, so I was guessing it was my own._

"_Cool!" Alice laughed excitedly. I laughed lightly at her enthusiasm as she proceeded to bounce lightly on the balls of her feet._

"_Oh!" She said suddenly, her eyebrows shooting up in realization. She reached out and grabbed my shoulder, gently turning me around. Too confused to object, I let her turn me so that my back was facing them. Next thing I know, my tank top was being lifted slightly on the right side of my hip._

"_Yep!" She chirped, pulling my shirt back down. "She has that same one as us, Rose. Just a different last number."_

"_Wow." Rosalie said, "That's so strange."_

"_I have what?" I asked confused, as I turned back around to face them._

"_We all have a tattoo on the right side of our lower back." Alice said, turning her hips slightly and lifting up her shirt. I bent down to look at it. It was a picture of plain black wings, about as big as a credit card. On the top there was a set of numbers curved to fit the shape of the wing. **(Pic on profile.)**_

"_All of ours are the same. Except the last number on ours is different. Yours ends with a 1, mine ends with a 3, and Rose's ends with a 5." She continued. After I pulled up from my bent position, she tugged her shirt back down and turned to face me, this time looking a little worried._

"_We should ask her now." Rose said, stepping closer to Alice and I. "They will probably be back soon, and we need to act as if there is nothing wrong."_

"_What are y'all talking about?" I asked, switching my confused gaze from Rose to Alice._

"_Okay." Alice sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Does your back ache?"_

Well it does now!,_ I thought bitterly. Now that she brought it up, it did hurt. Really bad as a matter of fact. It felt like there was a sharp point being pushed into my skin from under the skin on my back. I bit my bottom lip hard, almost breaking the skin, as I tried not to cry out in pain. _

_I nodded to them as I scrunched my eyebrows, trying to convey that I _was _indeed in pain._

"_Okay, that's good." Alice said. _

"_Good?" I asked loudly, slightly annoyed by her comment. "Why is that good?"_

_Just as I finished talking, the pain in my back got worse, but this time it felt as if a knife was cutting into the skin on my back. I flinched and sucked in a breath to let out a scream but Alice's tiny hand shot out and covered my mouth._

"_Don't scream!" She hissed, "They will hear you and they can _not_ see that!" _

_I looked from her face to see her hand which was pointing at something over my shoulder. I followed her finger to see a bunch of white feathers. At first, I didn't comprehend what it was. It looked so strange, meshing slightly with the white wall behind me. I struggled a little, but eventually made out the shape of the white feathers. As soon as I thought the word 'wings', the clutter of feathers moved slightly behind me. _

_My breathing became more frantic as Alice's hands covered my mouth and held me still. Even though she was almost a foot shorter then I was, she was very strong. I was grateful though, because if she wasn't I would be running around the room screaming my head off._

_"Chill!" She hissed, tightening her grip on me. Rose came up beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me._

_After taking a few deep breaths, I finally got my racing heart to a more normal pace. _

"_You aren't going to scream, are you?" Alice asked, giving me a glare as if daring me to do otherwise. _

_I nodded reassuringly and she finally let go of my mouth. "What's going on?" I asked, looking back over my shoulder._

"_You can take this Alice, you'd probably explain it better then me." Rose said, letting go of my shoulder and stepping away to sit on the bed across from me._

"_Okay." Alice began, "I honestly don't know any more then you do at this moment. I don't know where we came from or what we are, but what I do know, is that we all have wings and the same tattoo on our backs."_

"_How do I get them to go away?" I asked frantically, turning from side to side as I tried my best to get them to go away._

"_Yeah, thats a little bit harder." Rose commented. "But I did it just by focusing on them. It's just like moving your legs or something."_

_Alice gasped and quickly looked over her shoulder at the door. "Hurry!" She hissed, running over the the farthest bed, and climbing into it. "Get your wings in Bella! They are coming and they can't know what we are! It would be horrible!"_

"_Shit!" Rose hissed as she laid down on the bed she was previously sitting on. _

_My heart practically skipped a beat, as I panicked. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and focused on my wings like Rosalie had suggested. After a few attempts, I felt them pull in slightly as they seemed to disappear under the skin. It hurt really bad, but after I was already laying in the hospital bed I was before, the pain went away. _

I frowned as I tried to understand why exactly meeting this old man made me think about the past. Was it because I thought he was familiar?

I skimmed through all my memories from that day in the hospital till now, but nothing stuck out to me. We have always kept to ourselves and never really got to know people. Excluding now, with Edward, Jasper and Emmett. At the thought of not meeting him anytime between the age of fourteen and now, I realized what that meant. If I hadn't met him then, it would have to have been before that time: the thirteen years of my life I couldn't remember.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened to my floor. I shook the current thoughts from my mind, not happy that this old man's presence was making me remember that I had no memory before the age of fourteen. The thought of him even being part of that time was a crazy thought.

"Hey, Bells." Rosalie greeted me as I walked into her apartment. She was sitting at her kitchen table eating an apple.

"Hey, Rose." I replied, setting my purse on the kitchen counter. "Alice not back from work yet?"

"No, she called a few moments ago. Said she was on her way and that she had big big big news." Rose replied. I laughed at how many times she used the word big. "Her words not mine. She sounded like a spaz on the phone."

"When does she not?" I laughed, sitting in the chair next to her.

"True." She laughed, throwing her half eaten apple in the trash can that was across the room.

We both turned our heads slightly as we heard the ding of the elevator, indicating that Alice had finally arrived. I stiffened, waiting for the blood curdling scream. And sure enough, I could hear Alice's foot steps as she ran from out of the elevator and began to scream as loud as humanly possible.

Rose and I covered our ears to prevent our ear drums from bursting as we watched the front door fly open and Alice come running inside. She was grinning from ear to ear as she stopped directly in front of us, dropping her purse and a few shopping bags at her feet.

She sucked in a huge breath, her eyes as wide as dinner plates and started to scream. "Ohmygodyouguyswillneverbelievewhathappenedtodayatworkjaspercameandiwasoglinghisassandhecaughtme..." She screamed, but I cut her off since all her words were running together in a jumbled mess.

"Alice!" I screeched, glaring at her vibrating form. "Please, talk normal! I can't understand anything you are saying!"

"Fine!" She sighed, "Just a moment then."

I watched patiently as she proceeded to stretch her arms over head, taking long deep breaths. Sometimes I really believed she had problems. Like right now. Just the fact that she had to do breathing exercises to calm herself in able to talk like a normal person. Yeah, the girl has issues.

"Okay." She sighed, "So I was at work, and guess who was there?"

"Just spit it out!" Rose snapped.

"Oh, fine." Alice pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You guys are no fun. Why exactly am I friends with y'all?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because we are the only ones that can put up with your energy and the only ones that have wings like yourself." I replied, smiling smugly at her. "Unfortunately, you are stuck with us."

"Oh, right." Alice said, pretending that she was just now comprehending that bit of information. "So anyways, I was at work and Ashley and I were ogling this guy's tush and turns out it was Jasper! So of course, I had to talk to him and so I was lucky enough to have the last pair of shoes he wanted, which was Prada. I know! Amazing, right? Then right before he left he asked for my number and then he texted me like right after he left and said he would talk to the guys about us all hanging out!"

I looked up at her in amazement(looked up because I was still sitting on the chair at Rosalie's kitchen table), as I realized she had said all of that in exactly two breaths. I believe I just found her best talent.

"Yes!" Rose screeched, jumping up to hug Alice. "I get to see Emmett!"

I sat there quietly as I watched them jump around screaming their heads off about hanging out with the guys. About three minutes later, Rosalie made a bee line for her bedroom and I watched wondering what part of the screeching I missed that told me she was going to do something.

I looked back to see Alice smiling smugly at me, her hands placed on her hips.

"Don't even." I growled, my harsh glare daring her to do what I knew she was going to do.

"I told you so!" She screamed and sprinted towards the door as I jumped from my chair and ran after her.

I chased her as she ran out of Rose's apartment and to the bird room. Once she opened the door and stepped inside, she stopped, knowing that I couldn't continue the chase because it would scare the birds.

"You better sleep with one eye open, pixie." I threatened, point a stern finger at her as she strutted over to Bingo's bird cage.

"Oh, come on Bella." She sighed, petting Bingo through the bars of his cage. "Not even you, the stubborn one of the family, can deny how right I am about this."

I rolled my eyes and slumped down onto the rocking chair.

"Bella!" She said a little louder, "He was at my work! The day after I told you it was meant to be and the day after you told me that we would let it take its course! _He_ asked _me _for my number, Bella."

"Fine." I grumbled, staring at the floor as I rocked back and forth. "I do see what you mean. It doesn't change how risky it is though. Nor does it keep it from being scary. Alice, what if we really get attached to them and they find out our secret and we have to leave! Do you not realize how much that's going to hurt?"

"Bella." She sighed sadly. She made her way across the room and sat in my lap, resting her head on my shoulder. "I know what the risks are. But if we _don't_ try this, we will regret it later when there is no chance anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I sighed, resting my head on hers.

"Aren't I always?" She giggled and patted my cheek a little harder then she needed to.

I slapped her hand away and stood up abruptly, dropping her onto the ground. She landed on her butt with a loud thud, causing all the birds to jump and flutter around in shock.

"Ow!" She pouted, leaning to the side to rub her bottom. "My butt hurts now, you jerk!"

"If you wouldn't have gotten so cocky, I wouldn't have done it." I laughed, as I started to place food in each of the birds cages.

"I'm off to bed, senorita!" Alice called over her shoulder as she made her way to the front door of the apartment.

"Goodnight, Alice." I laughed.

I heard the door open and close as she left, but not a moment later, that door opened again and Alice poked her head back in.

"And Bella?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"I'mgivingyouamakeovertomorrowandyourgoingtobehappyaboutit." She said quickly, her words running together for the second time tonight. Unfortunately for me, I understood every word she said.

Before I could reply though, she had slammed the door shut and was running down that hall to her own apartment, giggling the whole way.

_**Review please! They make me happy and post faster! :D**_


	9. Chapter 8: Sisters

AN: I _was _planning on dedicating this chapter to the person who was the 50th review...but it didn't quite make it there, so **nbf4eva** gets the dedication for making it one away from 50 haha. Anyways...Sorry, this one took a little longer because well...its longer and I wanted it to be perfect, which I dont believe I achieved, but you be the judge of that. Its somewhat of a cliffhanger, but not really? Sorry about any errors in this chapter, I don't know anything about adoption laws/rules or anything, so sorry in advance if its not believable. If its okay, PLEASE tell me, I'd like to know! Hope you like it, and enjoy! :[

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 8: Sisters

BPOV

"Bella!" Alice growled, tightening her grip on my chin. This is one of the reasons I hate getting a makeover from Alice: she can get violent. "Stop moving! Your making this harder then it has to be!"

Alice was currently curling my hair; one of the many torture acts of what she called a makeover. Even though I woke up this morning with a killer head ache an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, she still forced me into the chair so she could 'work her magic'. Now I know, you may be wondering, where is Bella's free will? Or you may say 'Alice can't _make _you do anything'. Well your wrong, and you have underestimated the power that Alice has. Against me in particular. She may look sweet on the outside, with her angel wings and cute little pixie features, but deep down....sometimes I believe she is the spawn of Satan. I just bet you she is hiding little horns under all that spiky hair.

Okay, so that may be a little dramatic, but still she can be pretty evil. She forced me into this chair by bribing me. Yep, pretty twisted, huh? Unfortunately for me, it's not the kind of bribe that's enjoyable. No, she told me that if I let her do this makeover, I wouldn't have to deal with another for the next three months and if I didn't take her up on that offer, I would never hear the end of my dream about Enrique or about the many other embarrassing moments I've shared with them. So I took it, knowing that she knew exactly how to embarrass me to the point of insanity.

I sighed, glaring at her as much as I possibly could without actually moving my face. It was a lot harder then I thought it would be. "Alice! I'm completely still! The only movement is my breathing...and me talking right now, but I wasn't before, so..ugh!"

She giggled."Well then stop breathing."

"Oh, okay!" I said a fake cheery voice, "No problem! Anything else you need me to do?"

"Why, yes, now that you ask." She continued, ignoring my sarcasm. "You can not complain when I pick out your outfit."

I groaned as she continued to poke and prod my face with various beauty products. Alice and Rose constantly tell me that I am naturally beautiful but every time I go through a make over, I come out with a pound of make up on my face, even though Alice claims it looks natural. If so, then why not leave it natural in the first place? I will never understand...

"So that old man was at the book store last night before I closed up for the night." I said casually, trying my best to sound as if it was just a conversation starter. When in reality, it should be the main topic. This very topic was the reason for my uneasy feeling and headache. Yeah, I worry to the point that it becomes unhealthy.

"Really?" She asked, "That old man that lives on the nineteenth floor that you have the hots for?"

"Alice!" I growled, "I don't have the hots for him! I'm trying to be serious here. I swear I know him from somewhere."

"Oh, I'm sure it's all in your head." Alice sighed, gently patting my shoulder in a comforting manner. Even though I knew she was wrong, I tried my best to convince myself that her words were true.

It wasn't healthy for me to worry about stuff so much. But me, Bella Hale, will always worry about something. It's inevitable. There are just so many things that can go wrong with our lives that could put us in danger, it's hard _not _to worry. And I can't help but have the feeling that I am the only one that worries enough. Rose and Alice seem to not notice how fragile our lives are.

It makes me sick to my stomach to know that we are risking so much just simply living in the city, let alone going and hanging out with a bunch of guys we just met in our apartment complex! I don't know what I would do if something happened to Rose or Alice. They are my sister, on paper and in my heart. They are all I have and I will do _anything_ to keep our lives safe and them safe.

_Rose, Alice and I were sitting on a small couch in an office full of file cabinets with a large desk sitting in the middle. We had just recently changed into some new clothes they gave us. The clothes were nice, but I didn't like how they covered my shoulders and back. I liked to wear tank tops because it made me feel better to know that at any moment I could just let my wings out. Not that I would risk showing them that I had wings, it just felt better to have the option._

_It had only been a few days since the morning we woke up in the hospital. We had been staying in that exact room while they 'monitored' us. They had yet to talk to us about anything serious, probably because they didn't want us to have to deal with that right after we woke up in the hospital only knowing our names but nothing more. They hadn't even told us where we had been when they found us, or if they knew anything about our parents - if we did have any..._

"_This shirt is itchy, and an ugly color of green." Alice whined, tugging slightly on the sleeves of her green blouse. "Couldn't they have gotten us something a little more, I don't know, stylish?"_

"_Sorry to say this Alice, but you got the short end of the stick." Rose laughed, leaning over me to see Alice since I was sitting between them. "Yours looks like a lovely shade of puke, and mine is pink. Bella's is just gray, not that great but better then yours."_

"_Well thanks, Rose." Alice said in a fake sweet voice. "That makes me feel so much better!" _

_Just as I was about to put in my own two cents, the door opened and an old woman walked in holding a few files. She was wearing a bright purple dress suit with a very tacky looking scarf wrapped around her neck. She held her reading glasses over her nose while she read a sheet of paper. _

"_Well now I'm not feeling all that bad about my outfit." Alice giggled, keeping her voice low enough for only us to hear. _

_For the past couple of days we spent in the hospital, we had all gotten along well together. I already believed that Rose and Alice were my sisters, and we all decided that we weren't going to let them split us up. There was no way we could all make it on our own. We needed each other to get through this situation._

_Also during this time I had gotten used to the whole bird wings thing. At first it just freaked me out and I refused to let them free. But when Rose would lock the door to our room and both her and Alice would walk around with their wings out like it was no big deal to them, I got used to it. _

_To say the past couple of days were boring, was an understatement. I didn't really know why these crazy people believed it was reasonable to leave three teenage girls in a hospital room with nothing to do. So during the day we had nothing to do but entertain ourselves. We eventually made up our own little activities that helped us get used to how different we were from a normal person._

_Like snooping on the doctor's conversation that was going on between him and a patient just three rooms over. Or we would write small numbers or messages on the wall on one side of the room, then have someone else sit on the other side and read it. It was all so exciting to us. _

"_Okay, ladies." The old woman sighed, pulling her reading glasses off her nose and setting them on the desk she currently sat at. "My name is Mrs. Andrew, but you can call me Mary. I will be taking care of all your technical issues, like where you are to live and stuff like that. But first, I will have to ask you all a few questions."_

_She smiled sweetly to us, her bright red lips spread over her perfectly white teeth. After a few moments of her not continuing, I nodded my head slowly, assuming that she wanted us to signal when she could continue._

_She laughed lightly, looking a little nervous. "Well you aren't a very talkative bunch." She stated, looking to each of us. She waited again for us to say something, but we didn't. We didn't know this woman, and frankly, we were afraid of adults. Who were we to trust? We had no memory of our lives and obviously no one cared for us enough to come get us. _

"_Okay, then." She sighed, placing her glasses back on her face and glancing down at a few papers. "So do any of you remember anything before that day at the hospital?"  
_

_There was a few moments of silence as I looked from Rose to Alice, waiting for someone to take the lead. But I saw the scared looks on their faces and decided that I might as well be the one to speak up._

"_No. We don't remember anything before we woke up in the hospital." I said quietly, just loud enough for it to reach the old woman's ears._

"_No memory of your parents?" Mary asked._

"_No, I only know my name and that's about it. Same goes for them." I replied, keeping my gaze on my fidgeting hands that laid in my lap._

"_Okay then, I'm very sorry about all of this girls. I can only imagine how you all may feel. But I promise you that I will help each of y'all find a nice home." She continued, but stopped when all three of us snapped our head up to look at her with horrified expressions. _

"_No!" Alice squeaked, tears forming in her eyes and her hand clasped over her mouth._

"_What is it, honey? What wrong?" Mary asked, sitting up a little straighter in her seat as she watched a teary eyed Alice begin to shake her head frantically._

"_You—We....Please don't split us up." I said quickly. We were all slightly panicked at the thought of us all being split up. _

"_Don't split us up!" Rose sobbed, clutching tightly to my arm. "We are all each other has, we are sisters." _

_Mary's eyes widened in shock and sympathy as she watch all three of us begin to sob loudly. _

"_Okay, okay!" She said softly, "I won't, okay girls? I promise you I won't split you up. Please, just calm down."_

_As soon as she said this, we all immediately stopped and each of us took a deep breath to calm ourselves. Mary waited patiently for us to calm down, until all there was was a few sniffles and hiccups._

"_Okay." She began, "I'll tell you what. How about I file you all as sisters? You will all have the same last name for now, unless you get adopted, okay?"_

_We all nodded quickly and smiled as we breathed a sigh of relief. _

_Mary dropped her papers and glasses on her desk, peering at us with saddened eyes as we all whipped the tears from our faces. She sighed, and stood up from her chair. She came around her desk slowly and knelt down in front of us._

"_I'm so sorry, girls." She whispered, "I know how scared y'all are, but I will personally make sure you guys stay together. Okay?" _

_We all nodded as she opened her arms, inviting us in a group hug. We all giggled and hugged her as she squeezed us tightly. _

We never did find out where they found us. We never really thought to ask. In a way, I think we all understood that it was better off not knowing. I figured if we knew, we would automatically feel a need to keep near that place. Like it was the only connection to part of our life we couldn't remember. We couldn't let that small piece of information hold us back and make us feel hope when we had none. There was never going to be someone to go back to, so why hold on to it?

"Bel-la!"Alice screeched right into my ear. I jumped up slightly in my seat, wincing as I slapped my had over my now ringing ear.

"What are you doing! Are you trying to cause me to go deaf? You are evil, you know that?" I hissed, glaring up at her as she stared down at me with her hands on her hips.

"I've been talkin' this whole time and you where there staring off into space, making yourself a resident of La La Land!" She said, shaking her head at me in a disapproving manner.

"Sorry." I sighed, "What were you saying?"

"_I was saying._...that we are going to meet Rose at her work, then we are going to go meet the boys for dinner at this new Italian restaurant that was just built a few blocks from where Rose works." She said, while walking around the chair I was sitting in, trying to get a look at my hair from every angle.

"I still don't know why we are risking so much, just to hang out with a few guys." I sighed, letting my head fall back to stare at the ceiling, waiting for Alice's torture to be over

"Oh, please." Alice sighed, skipping over to my closet. "I bet you can't wait to see Edward!"

I glared at my closet door as I waited for her to reappear. Not a moment later, she came out holding a few hangers of clothing and a pair of shoes.

"All I'm saying is, are they really worth it?" I asked, walking over to my bed where she set down my outfit. I began to undress and put them on, not even bothering to see what it was, knowing that in the end, I had no say in the matter.

"What!?" Alice screeched as she began to put away all her supplies that she had been using on me. "Of course they are worth it! Grr! I'm not going to continue this conversation with you Bella. You're a party pooper, plain and simple."

"Whatever." I sighed.

* * *

"Rosie!" Alice sang, as she skipped into the lobby of Rosalie's work.

"Just a second!" Rose called from behind another door. There were a few banging noises and a chorus of 'shit' and 'ow's, then finally she appeared from around a corner dressed in a pink, off the shoulder knee length dress.

"Okay." She sighed, bending over to put a shoe on her foot. "I'm ready."

"Yay!" Alice giggled, clapping her hands together in excitement. "This is going to be so fun."

"Yeah!" I cheered dryly, limply punching a fist in the air while giving Alice the evil eye.

"What's wrong with you Bells?" Rose asked as we headed out to Alice's yellow Porsche.

"Bella doesn't think we should be doing this. She says they aren't worth it." Alice answered for me, while shaking her head at me.

"I never said that exactly." I argued, "I was just saying...theres a lot at risk and for what? To hang out with a few guys we cant get that serious about?"

"Okay Bella." Rosalie said, turning in her seat to stare at me with an evil grin. "Since this whole event doesn't mean that much to you. I'll make you a bet."

"Oh, oh! I love bets!" Alice giggled, bouncing in her seat as she drove down the street towards the restaurant that we were meeting the guys at. How she could bounce and drive at the same time, without so much as swerving slightly, was beyond me.

"I bet fifty bucks that you can't go all night without saying one word." Rose dared me with a smug look on her face.

"But Rose, that's rude." I replied.

"Not really." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "We'll tell them about the bet, just not why we made the bet."

I sat back in my seat as I stared out the window, lost in thought. Well obviously Rose didn't know what she was getting herself into. I was naturally a quiet person, so how hard could it be? And I could definitely use the money. Even though I really wanted to talk to Edward, this bet would make things a little more interesting...

I turned back to her, my small smile turning into an evil grin. "You're on! I'll start as soon as we get to the restaurant." I said, bobbing my head from side to side in a sassy manner and holding out my hand for her to shake.

Rose laughed and mimicked my attempt to be sassy while giving me a smug look. "Mkay, sista girl." She laughed and shook my hand quickly. "Hmm...guess I need to start making plans for what I'm going to use my fifty bucks on. Alice, any ideas?"

"A new pair of shoes!" Alice squeaked.

"Possibly." Rose replied, nodding her head in agreement. "And if I use your discount I can get more 'bang for my buck'!"

"There is no way you are going to win this." I laughed, "Did you forget who your talking to? I'm already a quiet person. One night of no talking is going to be a piece of cake for me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too confident if I were you Bella. We are going to be around three very hot guys. Also, I am going to do everything in my power to get you to slip up." Rose replied, as we finally pulled up to the restaurant.

I gulped loudly as her comment sunk in. I didn't give the thought of them working against me as a factor. Oh, what had I gotten myself into?

"We're here." Alice sang, "Bet starts now!"

* * *

_**EPOV**_

"Jazzy!" I heard a high pitched squeal from the parking lot. We all turned around to see Alice and Rose stepping out of a yellow Porsche.

She smiled over at us while she held the door open for Bella, who climbed out from the back seat. I felt a smile spread across my face as I saw her. She looked gorgeous in a blue knee length dress that looked amazing against her pale skin.

"Hey guys." Jasper and Emmet greeted them as they approached. Alice ran to Jasper to hug him, as Rose did the same to Emmett.

"Hey, Bella." I said quietly, smiling down at her as a slight blush started to form on her cheeks.

She smiled sweetly up at me and gave me a small wave, but said nothing. I cocked an eyebrow, silently asking why she wasn't speaking. She sighed glumly and pointed to her mouth with her index finger.

"What's wrong Bella?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh, Edward." Rose laughed, coming up behind Bella and pulling her into a teasing hug, while Bella tried to pull away. "I made a bet with ol' Bella here, and she isn't allowed to speak all night. If she does, she has to cough up fifty bucks."

"Oooo!" Emmett taunted, "This is going to be fun."

Bella's face turned from embarrassment to utter horror as she watched Emmett rub his hands together menacingly. I sympathized with Bella. Tonight was going to be a long night with her being on the receiving end of Emmett's jokes and teasing.

"So pick a side everybody." Rose said, "Either you're with Bella, so you help her win. Or your with me, and you have fun all night trying to get her to slip up."

"I'll help you Bella." I laughed, pulling her into a friendly hug. She groaned and hid her face in my side. I tried to keep the relief evident in my features at the feeling of having her so close to me.

"I'm with Rosie, this is going to be too much fun. Sorry Bella." Emmett laughed. Then we all turned to see Jasper and Alice standing together, watching us quietly.

"Don't look at us!" Alice squeaked, "We're Switzerland."

"Yeah, what Alice said." Jasper laughed.

"Let's eat!" Alice sang, bouncing slightly backwards towards the door to the restaurant. "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow!"

"Funny thing is, she's completely serious." Rose laughed as we all entered the small restaurant, and were greeted by a middle aged male receptionist.

Once we were seated and had placed our orders, we fell into a comfortable rhythm of conversation. There was so much I was curious about, it was hard to figure out where to start. Jasper, Emmet and I had been shocked when we found out that the girls were orphans. In a way, it made us feel better around them; knowing that we had something in common.

But what ate at me the most, was not knowing what they were hiding. It's not normal for people to want privacy so much, that they resort to buying a whole level of apartments. Emmett made the suggestion that it was drugs. I just laughed at his comment when I remembered Bella's innocent smile. Jasper's guess was they were in the mafia and needed the extra space for weapons or the extra apartments for all their relatives. Emmett got a laugh out of that, saying we should make them an offer they couldn't refuse.

Eventually we got to the more serious conversation. We told the girls about being adopted by Carlisle and Esme and moving to Forks here in Washington.

"How old were you when they adopted you?" Alice asked.

"Fifteen." I replied.

"So you were in the orphanage up to the age of fifteen?"

"No , we were placed in an orphanage at the age of fourteen." I replied, while I looked from Emmett to Jasper who both looked to be getting a little uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going. As was I, to be honest. This was exactly what we were trying to avoid talking about, but in the end, we didn't feel we could lie to them.

"Oh." Alice breathed, looking down at her dinner napkin that sat on the table in front of her. Rose and Bella stared intently at all three of us, as if they were intrigued by that bit of information.

"And where were you at before fourteen?" Alice asked, looking up from the table.

It got quiet for a moment, as I tried to think of the right thing to say. I very well couldn't say 'we have no memory of a day before the age of fourteen'. "Uhm." I sighed, looking over to Jasper and Emmett for help.

"We don't remember." Emmett answered quickly, as I silently thanked him for taking the lead.

I looked over to the girls to see them having their own silent conversation. They all looked confused and curious at the same time.

"Anyway." Emmett sighed, he sat up straighter in his seat, winked at Rose then turned to Bella with an evil grin. "So Bella, tell me about yourself."

Bella whimpered quietly and buried her face into her hands. I couldn't help the goofy looking grin that spread across my face as I watched her. Since she couldn't talk, she had been using facial expressions to get her point across. Like some would say 'I have no idea what your talking about' or 'Don't you even say/do it'. It really was quite adorable and very entertaining. I couldn't figure out for the life of me how she could be so...perfect?

Alice giggled and bounced in her seat. "I'll tell you about Bella!" She said, while Bella lifted her head to give her the death glare. "My dear sister is a worry wort. She talks in her sleep. Hates cats, like all of us and can blush on cue." Just as she said this everyone looked to Bella, and right on cue, she broke out into a bright blush. "See!" Alice giggled.

"Bella." Emmett whispered, leaning forward across the table towards her. She narrowed her eye at him suspiciously, but leaned in also. "Do you blush because you have dirty thoughts about Edward?"

Bella's eyes widened in shock and her blush became a deeper shade of red. While everyone laughed at what Emmett had said, she growled under her breath, picked up her dinner knife and pretended to threaten him with it while giving him an evil stare.

"It's okay, Bella." Emmett laughed, holding his hands up in a defensive manner. "It's natural. I'd be worried if you didn't feel that way. I mean look at him. He's a sexy beast."

"Okay, Emmett." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"Oh!" Alice squeaked, jumping up in her seat a little. Her face took on a mischievous look and she then turned to Emmett who she was sitting beside her and began to whisper in his ear, intending for only him to hear, when in reality Jasper and I could hear her perfectly fine. But she didn't know that.

"Bella has been having a dream about a guy named Enrique, and--" She whispered, with her hand cupped over Emmet's ear, but was cut off by Bella jumping up from her chair.

"WHAT!?" Bella screeched, glaring at Alice, "You said you wouldn't tell anyone if I let you give me a make over!"

Everyone went quiet, as we watched Bella silently fume. Alice turned to look at Bella with a look that said 'what have you done'. Which made no sense to me. But then when I remembered that she was whispering in Emmett's ear from across the table, I realized why. How could Bella have possibly hear what Alice was saying?

"Bella, how the hell could you hear her?" Emmett asked, speaking the question I had just asked myself.

Bella's expression changed from fury to shock. She looked around the table and settle on Alice's face as she shook her head disapprovingly.

"Uh," She sighed, sitting back down in her seat. "I guessed?"

After a few minutes of awkward silence as we all became lost in our own thoughts, Rosalie gasped loudly.

"I won!" She squeaked, punching a fist into the air. "Bella you owe me fifty bucks!"

"Alice! I thought you were Switzerland?" Bella said.

"I was!" Alice replied quickly, poking out her bottom lip in shame while looking down at the table. "I didn't do that with the intentions of breaking you. I promise."

"It's okay, Alice." Bella laughed, "But your going to pay for breaking our deal." Alice simply stuck her tongue out at Bella.

"So who's Enrique?" Emmet' asked, leaning over the table once again and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

* * *

Sorry for the cut off...it was just so long and if I kept going it would be ridiculously long. Next chapter will pick up where this left off basically so don't freak out. Review please!


	10. Chapter 9: Camila

**AHH! Its been a month! Shesh, I didn't even realize it was so long....so I apologize for the wait...if you are still interested :( which I hope you are. I've been busy and stuff, so don't hate me! On with the reading! But read my AN at the end, I need your support and I have a few questions!**

* * *

Chapter 9:Camila

_**BPOV**_

I've always thought I had a knack for screwing things up. Now I am completely sure of it. Just the fact that_ I _was the one that slipped up when_ I _was the one warning Rosalie and Alice to be careful around the guys is proof enough. Not to mention the fact that I lost a bet, setting me back fifty bucks, all because I am extremely insecure. Which brings me to the conclusion that I have to be the most unlucky person in the entire world.

Let's just recap on some of the reasons why I'm unlucky, shall we?

1) I hate shopping and/or makeovers. Just so happens, I get stuck with_ two_ sisters who absolutely _love_ those two things.

2) I am one of the most clumsiest people you will ever meet. Just so happens my two sisters are way more graceful then me and outshine me on looks too.

And 3) I believe myself to be a guy repellent, which is good because I am too shy and constantly make a fool of myself. But no, just so happens that, even though we should avoid men for our own safety, we find three very charming young men living exactly one level below us that seem to attach to us like Alice on credit cards.

_Nope...I'm not unlucky at all..._

Lucky for us the guys didn't seem to think too much of my slip up. Although I was bound to get an earful of how stupid I was from Alice and Rose.

Even though I want to say that what I did was all Alice's fault, I knew in reality it was all mine. I should have thought before I lashed out at Alice about something I wasn't even suppose to be able to hear.

While we waited for our food, I began to plot my revenge. Alice was going to pay for telling Emmett about my dream. She broke the deal she made herself, there was no way I was going to let her get away with that.

So far I was leaning between two options of attack. There was brutally murdering her entire wardrobe or cutting up her precious credit cards. They both seemed like pretty evil plans, but I was leaning towards the latter, mostly because if I messed with her wardrobe she could just use the credit cards to buy more clothes. Which would be doing her a favor.

"Uh oh." Alice breathed as she watched me from across the table. "Bella's gone eerily quiet."

Just to scare her, I looked up at her through my lashes and smirked slightly. Her eyes widened in fear, and I tried to keep from laughing. She knew exactly what was coming. It wasn't new to them that I was an expert at revenge. I mean, they tease me so much, it's only right for me to fight back.

"Yeah, Alice. I would be scared." Rose laughed from beside her, "That looks like the I'm-going-to-get-revenge-in-the-worst-way-possible face and with Bella, it's always bad, _very_ bad."

"You're going to get it too, Rose." I said calmly, which gave it the more menacing affect. Rose quirked an eyebrow at me, her facial features showing me that she wasn't the least bit intimidated. I wasn't surprised though, Rosalie is a tough woman, nothing ever intimidates her.

Emmett's loud laughter echoed through the small restaurant. "Bella," He laughed, "You can try as hard as you like but you will never look threatening."

"I'm afraid he's right Bella." Edward laughed from beside me. I turned my head in time to see him lean closer to me while smiling crookedly. He rested his elbow on the back of my chair, bringing him only inches away from my face. "You just end up looking extremely adorable." He whispered the last part, locking me in his intense gaze.

I was completely dazzled and because of that I knew I probably looked like a complete idiot. When he leaned away, I felt air rush into my lungs quickly. Funny, I hadn't even realized I had stopped breathing. I suppressed a giggled at the thought of it being dangerous to my health for him to be that close to me.

I turned back to the rest of the table to find everyone staring at me. When I looked at Emmett to find him trying to hold in his laughter, I finally remembered what he said. Lucky for him Edward had distracted me, or else he would have gotten a piece of my mind.

"Well, Emmett, looks can be deceiving." I sighed, "Ask Alice and Rose. They know from experience that my revenge can be _very_ harsh."

"Oh, yeah." Rose laughed, "One time when Alice forced Bella to go shopping because she had 'accidentally' thrown out her clothes - don't ask me how you accidentally throw a whole wardrobe away - Bella chose to tell this old woman that lived a few levels below us that Alice was interested in playing in her annual Bingo match."

"I had to go to that thing every Wednesday for a month!" Alice cried, "It would have been longer if I hadn't decided to just get myself kicked out by yelling 'Bingo' whenever I felt like it, even if I didn't actually have a Bingo."

I smiled and giggled at the memory. The funniest part of that whole month was just how scary she was when she got back from the Bingo match. She was so angry and full of energy because she had to sit still for so long that I was actually afraid of her. I had to resort to locking myself in my apartment in fear that she would physically attack me.

"Perhaps I have underestimated you, Bella." Emmett spoke up, "You and I could make a great team. I specialize in pranks."

"Oh no..." Jasper groaned, roughly dragging his hand over his face.

"If you have any compassion whatsoever, you would not take him up on that offer. Him alone is torture enough." Edward pleaded.

"Oh, I'm not. My evil schemes stay up here." I smiled, lightly tapping my index finger to my temple.

"Well thats real comforting." Alice snorted.

We finally received our food and ate while we had an enjoyable conversation with the boys. It surprised me on how much we actually had in common with them.

Emmett was like their—meaning Jasper and Edward's—own little Alice in a way. Well maybe not little...but you get what I mean. He was energetic and funny, always cracking jokes and making people laugh. His appearance didn't match his personality one bit. On the outside, he was slightly intimidating because he was so tall and muscular. But when you got to know him, that impression changed into a tall, silly teddy bear. You couldn't help but love him.

Jasper was the mellow one of the group. He was more of a listener which I believe was good for Alice since she can talk for hours and hours about anything. What really stuck out about him though was how just by a simple touch or comment he could put you at ease. He seemed to know exactly what to say to lighten the mood.

And then there was Edward. He was quiet too but had a more mysterious vibe about him. He was so kind and chivalrous, it was amazing. I found myself wanting to thank his adoptive mother for raising him so well. You don't often find a guy who will pull your chair out for you.

"Wow!" Jasper laughed, leaning back in his seat casually, "You girls can eat."

"I told you I was hungry!" Alice giggled as the waiter brought out the check.

We had a long argument about who was going to pay. Of course the guys said they would pay, but we all refused. Technically it wasn't an official date and we didn't expect them to pay for all of us, it was way too expensive, especially since we eat more then a normal girl...

Eventually we got our way, and we paid for our half of the check, leaving the boys a little aggravated, which just amused us to no end.

* * *

As we made our way out to the parking lot, Rose let out a long, drawn out whistle as she appraised the shiny red jeep that sat a few cars away from Alice's Porsche. **(Picture of Emmett's jeep on profile)**

"You like?" Emmett laughed.

"Are you kidding?" Rosalie laughed, "She's beautiful. How long have you had her?"

Alice and I giggled at the fact that she called the car a 'her'. Alice and I really never understood her obsession with cars, but we supported her anyways.

"'Bout a year." Emmett replied.

"Very well taken car of." Rose commented while slowly making her way back to the group, her eyes never leaving the jeep.

"Of course." Emmett said, "I've taken care of her, like anything _that_ beautiful should be."

Rose smirked as she looked back at Emmett, hearing the double meaning in his words. I couldn't help the small smile that played on my lips as I watched them smile at each other. It made me happy to know Rose finally found a guy she liked and it made me even happier to know it was Emmett. In my opinion, I couldn't have chosen anyone better. I may have only know him for a few days, but I could already see him for what he really was: a sweet, funny and caring guy. In a way his personality seemed the total opposite of Rose, which is why I believe they seemed to mesh so well. They balance each other out.

"Okay, okay." Alice giggled, "As much as I would love to stand here and admire Emmett's jeep and watch y'all flirt, I have to be at work early tomorrow for the end of our sale!"

"Yeah, I can imagine just how exciting that must be." I replied sarcastically.

"Oh, it is!" Alice replied, bouncing slightly, "We have a lot of new stock coming in which means new designs, which means I get first dibs!" She finished her little rant with a screech while clapping her hands together.

Jasper laughed down at her little vibrating form and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. She instantly stopped bounce and looked up at him with adoring eyes. I shook my head in disbelief. Rosalie and I couldn't even get her to calm down with bribes, but here Jasper just has to places a hand on her shoulder.

"Wow." Rosalie laughed at Jasper. "You make that look easy. Bella and I can't ever seem to calm her down."

Alice growled playfully at Rose then turned back to grin at Jasper innocently.

Just seeing how easily everyone was getting along and how much Alice and Rose seemed to like Jasper and Emmet made me want to jump around with joy. My two favorite people in the world had finally found someone. We were all getting ridiculously lonely from having to isolate ourselves from people, it was about time we found our matches. But was that what they were? If so, would that mean it _had _to workout well in the end?

Instantly my happy party turned into a pity party. There were still so many things that could go wrong. The whole incident in the restaurant earlier was proof of that. Just seeing how Rose and Alice looked at Emmett and Jasper made me happy, but at the same time, it made me equally scared. If their hearts were broken and they were upset, then I would be too. They were my life, my family, and if they were in pain, so was I.

Not to mention how much I was already falling for Edward. That alone would break me apart. On one side of my chaotic mind I was completely smitten for Edward and happy about it, but on the other, I couldn't help but remind myself that I had only knowing him for a few days.

I hate to say it, seeing as it is total cliché, but it feels as if we've known them longer then that. We somehow fell into a normal type of rhythm with them, as if we had known them our whole lives. That alone was proof enough that this was not some small crush; it was more. Which made it that much more dangerous to my heart when it would inevitably get crushed.

"You're frowning again with that far away look in your eyes." Edward laughed, jumping me out of my daze. I focused my eye to see him standing in front of me, wearing that crooked smile I had already grown attached to.

"Oops." I giggled, my sad thoughts instantly overshadowed by Edward's presence. "I've been doing that a lot lately, haven't I?"

He laughed. "Yeah, you have, but I can't say I mind it. You look rather adorable while you zone out. You show every little emotion you're feeling and I can't deny the fact that I love knowing what your feeling. If only I could know what you were _thinking_."

I laughed nervously at the thought of him actually being able to read my mind. _That_ would be embarrassing. I've always told Rose and Alice that my mind was a scary place. My thoughts are very random and tend to take crazy turns for the worst.

"I don't think my thoughts would be all that interesting." I replied, digging my hands in my coat pockets while twisting from side to side, swishing the loose sides of my jacket around in a child-like manner.

"Well from the quick change in emotions, I bet it would be. What's got you so worried?" He asked, his tone changing from amusement to concern in a matter of seconds.

"The usual." I sighed, "Work, family, things that could go wrong. Life is just so fragile, you know? One small change and it could change_ everything_."

"I know exactly what you mean." He replied, "I worry about the same thing. But really, I decide to let life take me where it wants to. Not let the fear of what _could_ happen keep me from being happy right where I am, right now."

I let out a long breath in relief as if his words had set me free. In a way they really did. His words made complete sense to me and I felt as if something inside me change. Like I now had chosen a certain action to take in my life. _Edward is a very smart man,_ I concluded.

A huge smile broke across my face. It had to be one of the brightest smile I had ever worn. "You're totally right."

* * *

"Hey!" Emmett's voice boomed through the tiny lobby of our apartment complex, causing Alice, Rose and I to jump in surprise, "Fancy meetin' you here!"

Laughing, we all turned to see Jasper, Emmett and Edward walking towards us. It had only been fifteen minutes since we left the restaurant in separate cars to go to the exact same place.

"How did you get here before us? We left before you." Jasper laughed.

"Alice." Rose and I sighed at the same time, turning our heads to the small pixie smiling impishly.

"So I like to drive fast." Alice stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"I drove at a normal speed, didn't want to hurt Camila." Emmett said.

"What?" Rosalie nearly shouted, "Whose Camila!?"

I stared wide eyed at Emmett, contemplating violence if he meant what I thought he meant. I normally wasn't a violent person, but I found myself forming a plan for a physical attack.

"That foxy woman in red outside." Emmett stated, point a thumb over his shoulder towards the front door of the lobby.

Rosalie huffed, shaking her head at Emmett. I swear if it were possible, steam would have been coming from her ears. Alice and I shared a look that said we were going to jump Emmett for doing that to Rose. Even though they weren't technically dating, it was still very low.

"Uh, Emmett." Edward said quietly, eying a furious Rosalie. "Maybe you should clarify who Camila is."

Emmett looked at Edward as if he had no clue what he was talking about. He followed Edward's gaze to Rose and instantly shrunk back in fear and shock.

"Oh, he doesn't have to clarify anything." Rose spat.

"Wait, wait! What?" Emmett asked confusedly, holding up his hands in a defensive manner. "What did I do?"

"Rose, chill." Jasper said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She sighed heavily, her stiff posture relaxing slightly. "He's talking about his jeep."

"Yeah! What else did you all think I was talking about?" Emmett asked innocently, his eyebrows crunching and his lips turning to a frown.

I instantly felt bad for jumping to conclusions. Poor innocent, adorable Emmett... He had no clue what we even thought he was saying or how much danger he was in of being jumped by Alice and I.

"They thought you were talking about an actual woman, you idiot." Edward replied, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"Aw, Rosie, no. I was talking about my jeep." Emmet said, making up the distance between them to pull Rose into his arms. Surprisingly, she didn't resist. She let out a sigh of relief and let him pull her into a hug.

"I only got eyes for you, baby." Emmett whispered in her ear, causing her to giggle and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Blah." Alice gagged, pointing a finger at her mouth and making gaging noises.

"Okay, okay." Jasper laughed, grabbing her hand. "Let's go, you did say you had to get up early."

"Oh!" Alice gasped, "That's right! Thanks for reminding me, Jazzy." And with that she smiled and began to pull him towards the elevators.

"After you, madam." Edward said, ushering me forward with his arms.

"Why, thank you, kind sir." I replied, holding my head high while making my way to the elevator.

When we made it to the twenty-fourth floor, the tension in the air heightened. I could tell that none of us wanted this night to end. It had been fun and we had a lot of time to get to know each other, but I knew it was bound to end.

"Phone?" Edward asked, holding out his hand while smiling crookedly down at me.

I smiled in return and dug my phone out of my pocket. After he had entered his number he handed it back but captured my hand in his. He slowly brought my hand up to his mouth, never breaking eye contact with me, and gently placed a kiss the back of my hand. I felt my cheeks grow warmer under his intense gaze.

"Goodnight, Bella." He said quietly, releasing my hand and walking backwards out of the elevator.

"Goodnight." I breathed, a little dazed by our little interaction.

Once the doors shut behind the guys, we all went silent as we became lost in our own thoughts. It wasn't until we got to Rose's apartment that we finally escaped from our dazed state. That's when I remembered something...

"What? I don't get yelled at for my little slip up at the restaurant?" I asked, completely surprised they hadn't started their rant about how dumb or irresponsible I was.

"What?" Rose asked confusedly, "Oh! Uh, nah. They didn't really think anything of it."

"Am I dreaming here? Y'all are actually letting me off the hook?"

They both just shrugged casually, dropping their purses on the kitchen table.

"So..." I sighed, doing the same to mine. "No punishment?"

I knew I was pushing it, but I was just so confused. It wasn't like Alice and Rose to look past my wrong doing. It was refreshing yet very weird. It just didn't feel right. Maybe the guys are a very good influence on them...

The next thing I know, something hard was slapped against the top of my arm. I gasped loudly, turning slightly to see Alice holding a rolled up magazine in the air.

"Ow!" I shouted while rubbing my arm, trying to relieve the stabbing pain. I frowned down at my arm, knowing there would be a bruise there for a while. That was one good thing about healing quickly: bruises only last for about an hour or so, depending on how much force was behind the hit."What was that for!"

"You obviously wanted to be punished." She stated, shrugging her shoulders.

I laughed. "No. I did not want to be punished, I was just surprised y'all let me get away with it. Jeez, Alice, I'm not a puppy."

"Doesn't mean we can't punish you like a puppy." She laughed, shrugging slightly.

"No, you--" I started to say, but was cut off by Alice who proceeded to wail on me with the rolled up magazine.

"Bad, Bella, bad!" She teased, stepping closer while still whacking me.

"Alice!" I laughed, quickly grabbing my purse and running towards the front door.

I heard her giggling a few paces behind me, still chasing after me, as I ran towards the front door. I laughed too, knowing there was no way she would be able to keep up with her short legs.

"Bel-la!" She groaned, annoyed that I had gain quite a bit of distance once we made it to the main hallway.

I quickly threw the door open to my apartment and shut it behind me, officially shutting out the abusive little pixie. With my back pressed up against the door, I felt and heard her little fists making contact with the door as she banged on it repeatedly.

"Fine!" She huffed, halting her pounding. "Change into your pajamas and meet us on the roof!"

"Sure, sure." I laughed, lazily pushing myself off the door.

"Rose! Grab the junk food and meet us on the roof!" I heard Alice shriek as I made my way to my bedroom.

* * *

_**EPOV**_

I grinned what had to be one of the dorkiest looking smiles that had ever graced my face as I watched the elevator doors close, separating me from the beautiful woman that had already manage to capture my heart. Tonight was amazing, to put it simply. Yeah, she didn't talk through half of it but it didn't make it any less amazing. Just her presence made me happy. It was ridiculous to have these feelings for her already but I did. And at this moment, I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. It was just so new to me.

And as we headed down the hall to our apartment I couldn't bring myself to think about all the things that could go wrong. At this point, I wouldn't even care if I fell off a seven story building- that being if I couldn't fly- just as long as I got to see her face again.

Once we were all sitting in the living room of our apartment, I peered over to look at Jasper and Emmett. They both seemed to be off in their own world, just staring off into space wearing the same goofy grin as me. _Well at least I wont crash and burn alone..._

"We are either the luckiest men alive or the unluckiest." I sighed heavily, letting my head fall back to rest on the back of the couch.

After a few moments with no response, I looked over to see neither of them had moved an inch.

"Uh, guys?" I asked, waving my arms around the air to get their attention.

"Oh." Emmett looked up at me slowly, his facial features blanks. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said..." I sighed, shaking my head in disbelief. "We are either the luckiest men alive or the unluckiest."

"Why would we be unlucky?" Jasper asked quickly, and I couldn't help but notice how slightly defensive it sounded.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that we have wings? Or that we don't know if we are human? Or maybe that we don't have any memory whatsoever before the age of fourteen? I definitely don't want to be the ones to tell them,_ if_ we decide to."

"We aren't telling them." Emmett said calmly, shaking his head quickly.

"You plan on keeping this a secret forever? Even if Rose wants to get married and move in together or have kids? What will be your excuse be other then, 'I can't have kids Rose, I'm not completely sure they will turn out 100% human.'"

Emmett frowned and glared at me but I could tell he had nothing to say. I wasn't really surprised he was mad at me; I _was _raining on their party, but it had to be said. To be quite honest, I didn't want to mess this up. We had to decide what we were going to do before we stepped too far.

"I don't know." Jasper groaned, "This sucks....but I love it."

We all laughed at this, mostly because it was oddly true. The situation sucked but I honestly didn't mind, as long as Bella was there, I would suffer anything.

"Well, it's a little too late to go back now." Emmett sighed.

"You're right."

"But does that mean eventually we have to tell them? I mean if -" Emmett didn't continue because their was a very loud, high pitched shriek that came from above us.

We all turned to each other, silently asking if the other heard it too, then we all ran for the balcony. Emmett rammed into me on the way, almost sending me crashing straight into the sliding glass door.

"Shh!" I hissed, turning around to an anxious looking Emmett.

I gently slid the door open, careful not to make any noise, and crept out onto the balcony with Emmett and Jasper right behind me. As soon as we were all there, we heard talking and giggles from above us. When I looked up, the sight almost cause my heart to stop.

There hanging over edge of the top of the building were three pairs of legs. I watched in horror as their legs casually rocked back and forth. The first thought that crossed my mind was of Bella's clumsiness. Did she have a death wish? I mean seriously, someone that clumsy shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the edge of a building, even if it had a six foot high railing.

"Wow, they weren't kidding when they said they liked heights." Jasper breathed quietly to himself.

"What the hell do they think they are doing!?" Emmett hissed under his breath. I could tell he, also, was feeling a little uneasy about the situation. We were all already so protective of the three girls. I would say it was natural to want to protect and preserve something that makes you happy, something that is so precious. And that was exactly what the three girls were to us.

As much as I wanted to just scream for them to get off the ledge, I knew it was a bad idea. Also, I didn't think it was our place to ask them to get off the ledge. We weren't their parents - thank God for that - and we weren't their boyfriends... _yet_.

So, what's a man to do in such a situation?

* * *

"Why can't they just go to sleep!" Emmett groaned, trying to keep his eyes open as he laid flat on his back on the concrete floor of the balcony, exactly four hour later.

I turned my head to the left to see Jasper was already snoring lightly, having already dosed off. Yep, we were laying on the ground, staring up at the girls, waiting for them to get off the ledge. We figured the only way to keep a healthy conscious was to sit and make sure they didn't accidentally fall off the edge. And let me tell you, it was not exciting at all. One, we had to be as quiet as possible as to not let them find out we were watching. And two, the girl's conversations either consisted of how hot some actor was or when they were going on their next shopping trip.

It was now exactly one in the morning now, and they were still just as rowdy as four hours ago. These girls had a lot of energy, I had to admit. I had expected it from Alice, but Bella? I would have assumed she would have tuckered out sometime soon. Hell, I was on the verge of passing out and I was just lying here lazily watching their little feet sway back and forth. I didn't even want to think about the mess I was going to be tomorrow at work.

I listened intently as the giggles died down quite a bit. A second later, I heard the words I was so desperately wanting to hear for the past four hours. They all agreed to go to sleep, and I almost felt like jumping to my feet and starting a victory dance when I saw all three pairs of legs disappear from the ledge.

"Finally!" Emmett huffed, jumping up to his feet instantly. I laughed as I saw him sway slightly from the head rush.

I got off the floor myself and was about to head inside, until I realized Jasper was still knocked out on the floor. I turned back around to wake him, but when I saw his lazy position and the way his mouth was hung open, I got a very cruel idea. I turned to Emmett to tell him my plan, but as soon as I did, he nodded his head, somehow already knowing what I was going to say.

Nodding to him in a silent agreement, we both quietly crept over to Jasper, each of us standing over him on either side. I tried to contain my laughter as I started down at him, knowing that this was going to almost give him a heart attack. Unfortunately for him, I was tired and slightly grumpy, causing me not to care if he got angry and kind of anticipating the laugh I was going to get from his reaction.

I held up five finger towards Emmett, starting my countdown. Once I got to one, we both let out the loudest scream we could conjure up. I jumped slightly as the sound echoed off the walls of the apartment. We had definitely woken some people up.

Once the sound hit Jasper's ears, his eye's snapped open and he shot up to his feet in a matter of seconds. I couldn't even begin to wonder what kind of a scare it caused him since even I had jumped at the loud sound.

"What!? What happened!?" He sputtered.

Emmett's face washed of all emotions as he stared blankly past both of us towards the edge of the balcony."Ahhhh!" He bellowed, running over the ledge and peering over. "Jasper! Alice fell off the ledge!"

Jasper looked over to me, horror and fear written all over his face. I tried my best to look scared and flustered as I frantically looked from the balcony and back to him. Once he saw my horrified expression, he jumped onto a chair that sat by a small table we had off to the side and from there he jumped onto the ledge of the balcony.

"Alice!" He screamed over the edge frantically, before he crouched to leap over the side. Luckily Emmett was smart enough no to let him. He grabbed onto his arm and the back of his t-shirt and dragged him back into the middle of the balcony, while he kicked and fought to get out of his grasp.

"What the hell Emmett!" He yelled.

Emmett then started to burst into laughter, me not too far behind. Jasper stopped fighting against Emmett's hold and began to stare at us confusedly. After a few moments, he finally realized what had happened, and his features turned deadly. He was beyond pissed.

Before Emmett could react, Jasper had ripped his arm from his grasp and punched him square in the ribs. As Emmett groaned and fell to the floor, I took a few steps back, positioning myself so that I wasn't in Jasper's line of view. Call me a coward, but I definitely didn't want any broken bones. It would heal quickly, but it would still hurt and be sore tomorrow for work.

"Shit!" Emmett hissed, clutching his ribs while still on his knees. "I think you broke a rib!"

"Oh, stop crying." Jasper hissed, glaring down at him. "It will heal by tomorrow."

"Why do I get punched and not Eddie over there!" Emmett asked, pulling himself up from the ground while glaring at me. "It was as much his idea as mine!"

Jasper instantly turned around to glare, taking one step closer to me. I took a step back in responds, holding my hands up in surrender. "Hey, if we want to get technical here, it _was_ kind of his fault. He's a bad influence. I got the idea from his crazy pranks."

"What!" Emmett screeched in a very high pitched voice, almost causing me to laugh if it wasn't for the murderous glare Jasper was still dealing me."What kind of excuse is that?"

"A pretty good one, I have to say." Jasper laughed, while I nodded in agreement, smiling smugly at Emmett.

"You suck, Jasper." Emmett pouted, while walking stiffly towards the sliding glass door, still clutching his broken rib. "Always teaming up on me." I heard him mumble to himself as he shook his head in despair.

Once I made it to my room, I quickly threw off my shirt and jeans and climbed into bed, not having enough energy to take a shower. It could wait till morning. As I fought with the covers of my unmade bed, I suddenly became overwhelmed with the delicious thought of having Bella in my arms as I slept.

I instantly stopped my fussing of the covers at that thought. Wow, I was officially hitting the stalker stage. And now I was seriously contemplating actually warning Bella to stay away from me. She would be scared of me if this kept going down that path. Hell, I was scaring myself.

I seriously needed to work on controlling the stalkerish vibe I was starting to give off. Though it might be expected, seeing as I have no experience with women or relationships and I'm a little lonely, it still wasn't a very good excuse.

All I needed to do was take things slow, be careful about what I say around Bella and try my best to not scare her away. That would definitely be the outcome if I let her see the intense feelings I was already having for her. And quite frankly, I don't think I could handle her pulling away from me. She was like my sun; she made my life brighter. And there was no way I was going to let her go.

* * *

**AN:**

**First: I was reading a story and they were talking about their 'outline' for the story. And I was just wondering, do ya'll use one for your stories? Cuz I'm just kinda goin with the flow here with random ideas. I mean yeah, I have the main plot, but I don't have every chapter organized or anything.**

**Second: I was wondering, you guys like fluff, right? Or do you like to cut to the chase? I need to know because I usually have different tastes than a lot of people. So if you want/like fluff, tell me!**

**And third: I NEED you guys to review and give me any comments, I mean ANYTHING that's on your mind. Just as long as its not super mean, cuz then I'd prolly just cry then kill everyone in the story....Anyways, so if you have any ideas for a funny situation or maybe a situation where the girl's slip up on keeping their identity a secret, tell me!**

**That's it! If you read all this, I just want to say, I LOVE YOU. And seriously, reviews make me really happy and makes me want to update as soon as possible. So REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 10: Terri, Tina and Tira

Yay! Not a whole month till an update! I don't have a lot to say before the this chapter other then that it has some implied _stuff. _See I can't even get myself to type it. Thats why its implied, never have any actual words. So sorry if you hate that I did it, but I didn't think it was that obvious... oh, and just so you know, not that I thought y'all thought I would(hehe) but I will NEVER, EVER NEVER EVER write a lemon! I'm a wait for marriage kinda gal, so I just can't write that stuff...so yeah... thanks for all the reviews, I love them all! So read the AN at the end!

* * *

Chapter 11: Terri, Tina and Tira

Monday, October 27th , 7:00 a.m.

**APOV**

"Whatcha day dreaming about?" Rosalie asked Bella as we made our way into her kitchen. She was sitting at her kitchen table, staring into her cereal bowl while swishing around the contents lazily. I made my way over to the inviting sound of the gurgling coffee pot.

Bella jumped in surprise, her head snapping up to us. How she didn't realize we where in the room, I didn't know.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking." She said, then when her gaze turned on me, her innocent smiled turned into an evil smirk. My eyes widened at the glint in her eyes. Something was up with her. I knew that look; it meant something was going to happen. Bad or good, I didn't know. I prayed it was good; Bella can pull pretty bad stunts. But what had I done?

"Bella." I said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean?" She smiled sweetly to me. _Oh, shit. I was in for it! Why me!? _

My eyebrows scrunched in worry as I racked my brains for a reason she might get revenge on me. It had been two weeks since that first time we had dinner with the boys at that new Italian restaurant and I was almost 100% sure I had been a very good girl. I had Jasper as a distraction to keep me out of my shenanigans.

About three days after our group night, Jasper asked me out on a proper date. It was a simple movie and dinner, which I have to admit was perfect. It was officially my first date and I liked that it was a traditional one. How he could have gotten any more perfect, I didn't know.

Rosalie also got her dream date. Exactly a day after mine and Jasper's date, Emmett asked her out. It was a little different from ours, but very Rose. He took her to a car show and a romantic dinner. I smiled at the memory of her coming home squealing like she just won the lottery. I was still trying to get used to a giddy Rosalie, since that's how she was after every encounter with Emmett. And I have to say I like this new side of Rose. Emmett was definitely a good thing for her.

And then there was sweet, shy, innocent Bella. She also got her date with her prince. Edward took her to dinner then to some secret place he had found in the city to watch the stars. I had to admit, Edward was quite the charmer.

"What did I doooo!" I wailed, pretending to sob behind my coffee mug. I continued to fake sob for a good fifteen seconds then peeked over the edge of the cup to see Bella and Rosalie just staring at me with blank expression.

"Okay, that was slightly disturbing." Rose laughed.

"Uh, yeah." Bella agreed, "Do you really think it's a good idea for _you_ to have coffee?" I just stuck my tongue out at her and took a long sip of coffee.

Rose sighed and stood up from her chair. "Alice, I'm going to drive your car to work and do a quick oil check and stuff, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, can you drop me off at work on your way? I'll just take a cab back home."

"That I can do, sweet-cheeks." She grinned standing up from her chair.

"Ew, don't ever call me that again." I giggled, pouring the remainder of my coffee out in the sink. I would have brought it with me for on the way to work but I didn't want to risk spilling in my precious car.

"Bye, guys!" Bella called sweetly to us. I turned to see her wiggling her fingers in a girly wave. The sight made my skin crawl; Bella was never that cheery or sweet, boy was I in for it...

* * *

I giggled while sitting on the counter at the register as I watched Angela, my boss and friend, and Ashley argue about which button does what on the cash register. It was a pretty serious argument and I wouldn't have been laughing if it wasn't for the fact that both buttons did the same thing, just in a different way. So either way, both of them were going to lose their little fight.

"No! You press this one, it's how I do it all the time!" Ashley said, shaking her head annoyingly at Angela who didn't seem to be getting very agitated. She was always a reasonable person, always keeping her temper in check and thinking about the well being of others. Not that Ashley wasn't the same, she just never had a good rein on her temper. I can't complain though, that's why I liked working with her; she was entertaining.

"No, the manual I have says to press this one!" Angela said.

Ashley huffed loudly, and took a breath to continue on her side of the argument. I interrupted her though because, sadly, it wasn't very funny anymore.

"Okay, okay, guys!" I said, jumping down from the counter. I walked between the two of them, right up to the cash register. "Now look, pay attention and take notes, ladies."

I proceeded to demonstrate to them that both buttons did the same thing. After I was done with my very slow and precise demonstration - using very slow pronunciation of big words, of course - I turned to them with a smug smile. They both just stared at me blankly.

"My ways faster!" Ashley said loudly. I rolled my eyes and just shook my head.

Angela laughed at me. "Why didn't you tell us that a long time ago?"

"Because it was fun to watch." I giggled and ran for employee lounge, narrowly missing their attempts to get their hands on me. _So violent... parents never taught them proper manners..._

After retrieving my purse from my locker, I made my way back to talk to Ashley before I left. Since I was getting off early today, I was planning on surprising Bella with a visit to her work. She hated when I did it, but I didn't care. I felt like asking her why she was acting so suspicious earlier this morning. Obviously it wasn't what I thought, seeing as nothing horribly wrong had happened all day, but I was just itching to find out what it was!

"Oh! You're getting of early today?" Ashley asked, frowning slightly.

"Yup." I smiled, hopping over to her little check out station and resting my elbow on the counter.

She was silent for a few seconds, then the next thing I know she's clutching to my arms, sobbing hysterically. "Don't leave me!" She wailed, "It's so boring and dull today! I'm going to die, Alice, DIE!"

I giggled as I pulled up to watch her entire torso sprawled out in a weird potion on the counter as she fake sobbed. "Die? From what?"

"Boredom!" She said, "I will be the first case of death by boredom, I just know it. And then you will be a suspect for my murder because you could have prevented it. Then you will go to jail and end up someone's biotch! You don't want that do you?"

"Sorry, but if you die from boredom, then most likely that will form a chain of death's by boredom. So then I wouldn't have anyone looking for me as a suspect because they too would have died." I laughed.

"Dang, you're good." Ashley finally said, slumping forward to rest her head in her hand and her elbows on the counter. "So I'm having a Halloween party Friday, you coming?"

"Ooo!" I squealed, jumping up in the air. "I wouldn't miss it! Oh! I can't wait to find a costume! And I bet I could get Bella to let me pick hers! Oh and the boys can come too, right?"

"Of course!"

"Oh! Me and Jazz totally have to have matching costumes!" I giggled excitedly and began rummaging through my purse for my wallet.

I finally found my wallet and unzipped it quickly, eager to see my precious'. When I did, I let out a blood curdling scream. I couldn't believe my eyes, and found myself praying that I was imagining things.

Every single one of my credit cards where cut in thin little pieces but placed perfectly in their spot in their holder. Anything but my precious credit cards! Who would do such a wretched thing? It was like...like...slapping babies! It's an abomination!

"What? What?" Ashley asked hurriedly, leaning over the counter to look in my wallet. When she saw it she gasped loudly. "Oh. My. Gawd."

By this time, I couldn't bring myself to moved, to speak. I was even surprised I was breathing! All I could do was stand there paralyzed as my children lay there cut up into tiny pieces.

_Bella! Bella Bella Bella! I....she...they....pain! Oh the pain! _There, I couldn't even seem to create coherent thoughts.

"Uh, Alice." Ashley breathed, quickly running around the counter to my side. "Breathe, Alice. I know this is hard, but you need to breath."

"They....oh...look!" I squeaked, shaking my head in despair. "911! Someone call 911!"

I gently lay my wallet down and began to rummage through my purse for my phone. I growled under my breath as Ashley had the nerve to actually laugh in a situation like this. Once I found my phone, I flipped it open and began scrolling down my contacts list. Not a second later, the phone was snatched out of my hands.

"Alice, think reasonably here! You can't seriously call the police because your credit cards died!" Ashley said, holding up my phone over her head while I frantically tried to get it back.

"Oh, please! I wasn't going to call the police! I have to yell at Bella and get a ride from someone! I have to take a cab to get home and I have no cash! And I can't use my credit cards to get money at an ATM!" I cried, slumping down to my knees on the floor in defeat. I could care less right now if anyone stares. _Oh, Bella was going to get it!_

Ashley sighed then bent down to hand me the phone. I grabbed it greedily and pressed speed dial number two. It rang a few times then went to voice mail.

"_Hi this is Rose. Sorry I can't come to the phone, but leave a message and I'll get back to you." _

I growled under my breath and hung up. I had forgotten that she always turns off her phone at work. I hit speed dial two and almost let out an angry screech.

"_Hi, this is Bella. Sorry I'm not there to take your call, but if your Alice, I'm not sorry. Hope you like my revenge! So leave a message and I'll get back to you. "_

Once I heard the beep, I began to leave my message. "Hey Bella." I started in a sweet, inviting voice. "So I'm just sitting here about to leave work and COME KILL YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY BABIES! OH, IT IS SO ON!" And with that I hung up and began to flip through my contacts.

Once I heard his glorious voice answer the phone I felt my heart skip a beat. I was in love with him. I knew it. Just his voice, even if it was slightly distorted by the cell phone's reception, made me swoon. Every single date, all five of them—not including all the group activities we had— brought me that much deeper in my love for him.

"Jazz-ey!" I sobbed dramatically. Honestly, I wasn't upset enough to actually shed tears, but I think my babies deserved some kind of performance for their very noble death. "They...and Bella....cut...DEAD!"

"Alice! Alice! Calm down." Jasper replied worriedly, "What happened!? Bella died!?"

"Oh, she's going to get worse then that when I get my hands on her!" I hissed, then it turned to sobs once again. "Jazzy, baby, they are just lying there...all...all...dead! And cut up and stuff! Oh, what am I going to do!?"

"Who, Alice! Who's dead!" He asked urgently.

"Terri, Tina and Tira!"

"Who are they!?"

I sniffed a little, before answering. "My credit cards." I breathed, slumping over so that my head rested in my lap with the phone still glued to my ear.

He chuckled when he heard my response and my heart did a crazy leap in my chest. I could just imagine his handsome smile as he laughed and those tiny little dimples that appeared when he grinned cheekily....

"Alice?" I heard his voice from far away. I quickly pulled the phone back to my ear, totally unaware that it had fallen away from my ear slightly while I day dreamed about my boyfriend.

"Oh, yeah I'm here. Just day dreaming about you." I sweetly, my sad act totally washed down the drain.

"Oh, really?" He laughed, "I guess that's good, seeing as I've been day dreaming about _you_ all day."

"Oooo, you have? Well then you wouldn't mind coming to pick me up at work? I don't have any money for a cab and Rose dropped me off this morning." I asked, biting my lip in anticipation for his answer.

"I would love to. Just let me finish a few things here then I'll be on my way."

I couldn't help the squeal of excitement that escaped my lips. "Yay! See you then!"

"Bye." He chuckled, then we both hung up.

* * *

"Jazz!" I squealed as I ran toward Jasper who was standing outside his car facing the other way. As soon as he heard my voice he turned around wearing a huge grin. My leap caught him off guard but he managed to catch me.

"Happy to see you too!" He laughed, briefly hugging me to his body that was wrapped around him, then helping me down to my feet.

"Let's go! I can't wait to get my hands on Bella. Oh, she better be shaking in her boots once she sees me. She is in for it!" I growled, moving past him to open the passenger side door.

Once we were both inside and heading off, he turned to me. "So I take it I'm not dropping you off at the apartments?"

"Nope. To Bella's work!" I commanded, pointing a finger towards the direction he was suppose to go.

About ten minutes later we arrived at Bella's dainty little bookstore. I quickly jumped out of the car and ran for the entrance, not even bothering to bring my purse; it would have just weighed me down. As I pushed the door open, the overhead bells jingled, giving away my element of surprise. I didn't ponder it too much though, I had the speed to make up for it. I might be slower then Bella, but when I have enough ambition I can move pretty fast.

Making a bee-line for the back of the store, where the checkout counter was, I willed my little legs to move as fast as they could. Once close enough, I could see Bella picking up a few books from the check out counter, smiling and giggling as she did so. Why she would be giggling, I didn't know and frankly didn't care.

"Alice!" She shrieked as my body came in contact with hers, sending us both crashing to the floor with me on top of her. Before she could move, I straddled her around the waist, ignoring the book that was digging into my calf, and proceeded to slap at every inch of her body I could get my hands on.

"How could you!" I shrieked, "Anything but my babies! Why, Bella! Why!"

She ignored my questions as she tried to shield herself from my blows. "Edward!" She shrieked, "Help!"

I instantly stopped, having not realized he was here. Before she could attempt to get up, I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the floor, then looked up in search for Edward. When I saw him, he was leaning against a bookshelf across from us, grinning cheekily and laughing. Jasper was there too, standing behind him wide eyed as he watched our little scuffle.

"Sorry, Bella." Edward said, "I quite enjoy watching this."

"Yeah, I don't think I can complain either." Jasper breathed, now staring at me with the strangest expression.

"You guys are sick!" Bella growled, trying to pull her wrists from my grasp. It didn't work, and frankly I didn't know why she was trying; it was no use.

After regaining my thoughts, which had gone a little haywire at the way Jasper was looking at me, I remembered once again what Bella had done. And with that thought, I began my attack once again. But unfortunately, after about a few seconds, I felt familiar hands gently pulling me off of Bella.

"Okay, okay." Jasper laughed from behind me, "That's enough, you don't really want to hurt her do you?"

"Uh, yes." I said automatically, for it was the truth. She deserved worse punishment then that. And it wasn't like it would actually hurt her, whatever I did to her would heal in minutes or hours.

Bella got to her feet and went to stand by Edward. Once she had slightly positioned her body behind him, she grinned smugly at me. "I take it you found Terri, Tina and Tira?"

I growled loudly and went to lunge for her but Jasper grabbed my forearms to hold me back. I pulled against his hold angrily and found that he was wasn't budging an inch, even though I was using a lot of strength. _Wow, my boyfriend is buff!_

"Calm down, Alice." Jasper said quietly, and I found that just his words help calm me. But what he did next, both calmed me and sent me into waves of immense pleasure.

Jasper removed his hands from my arms and proceeded to rub my shoulder, his thumbs digging into the skin where my wings would be. I groaned at the pleasure, leaning back in his hands. That small movement made it feel even better because of the added pressure. When he heard my groan of approval he rubbed a little harder and I had to lock me knees in place so I wouldn't fall over.

"Oh!" I squeaked, rolling my shoulder as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. There was no greater feeling then getting a back rub right where your wings would be. It was like nothing else in the world. It could seriously make me tear up with joy.

When his hands veered slightly below where I wanted them, I groaned in frustration. "No, no. Right between my shoulder blades." I directed.

I continued to groan and sigh in pleasure as his hands rubbed my back, not really paying attention to Bella who was hissing for me to stop. I could care less about what she was saying, it just felt _so_ good.

**BPOV**

I watched in horror as Alice's eyes rolled to the back of her head. After her first groan of approval, I knew exactly what was happening. A back rub right above the wings was like rubbing a dogs belly. It felt amazing, so much that once started we weren't expected to even produce a coherent thought, let alone tell them to stop. Just watching it made me want a back rub myself. I could see how much she was enjoying it and to be quite honest, I was getting jealous.

"Alice!" I hissed, moving around from behind Edward to try to get her attention. I knew it was hopeless but I couldn't _not_ try.

"Wow, it really looks like she's enjoying that." Edward laughed from behind me. "Look at her face...it looks like she's...she's...."

I knew exactly what he was trying to say and that if I could see his face he would be blushing at the thought. That _was_ the affect it had on us. Crazy, but it was. Not that I had ever experience _it_, but I would imagine it probably even felt better...

"Alice!" I shouted, " Stop that ri-"

Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish, because right then Edward's hands snaked their way up my arms and to my shoulders. He then proceeded to rub at the exact spot Jasper was rubbing Alice and all coherent thoughts were gone.

"Edward." I groaned, pushing back on his hands for more pressure. As soon as he heard me, his hands dropped from my back and I was left feeling unsatisfied.

"No, no!" I whined, taking a few steps back so that my back was leaning against him. "Don't stop."

"Uh, Bella." He said through clenched teeth, "I don't think that's a good idea." He then pushed me forward by my shoulders then hissed for Jasper to stop.

"Wow." Alice sighed heavily, while turning around to grin widely at Jasper who had a perplex look on his face. "That was amazing."

She then turned to me with a dazed look but it soon turned fearful when she saw my face. I was grumpy now, that was for sure. Technically, it wasn't her fault. She didn't ask Jasper to do it and there really was no way she could come out of it once it was started, but at the moment, I was too angry to care.

"I forgive you?" Alice said sweetly, her comment sounding like a question. My angry glare had brought her back from her high and I could see it in her eyes; she was realizing what had just happened. No doubt she was embarrassed beyond belief, but Alice was always confident, so she didn't let it show.

There was an extremely awkward silence that lasted about a whole minute. It was weird and I didn't quite know why Jasper and Edward would feel awkward or have a reason to go quiet. _Alice and I_ were the ones acting strange and we were the ones worried about being strange in front of them.

"So anyways...." Alice laughed awkwardly, "Ashley, my co-worker, is having a Halloween party Friday, and we are all going." I couldn't help but notice how she didn't bother to ask if we wanted to, just that we were.

"Ugh." I groaned, hanging my head, "Do I have to?"

"Aw, come on Bella." Edward laughed, wrapping an arm around my side and pulling me to him. "It will be fun."

"Sure will be!" Alice said excitedly, "We can go shopping for costumes tomorrow! Do you guys think y'all can get the day off?"

"I guess I can try..." I said quietly, while I started to form a plan in my head. I would tell them I asked for the day off tomorrow...but not actually do it and say that my boss wouldn't let me!

"Don't even think about it Bella!" Alice growled, point an accusing finger at me._ Damn....how does she know what I'm thinking? _"I know what your thinking!" _Ha!_ " And if you for some strange reason can't get tomorrow off, I'll just pick a costume for you. And trust me, it wont be pretty."

_Wow, how does she always find a way to make a situation worse? _

"Fine!" I growled, resting my head on Edward's shoulder.

"Yay! We can have couple matching costumes!"

"Oh, boy." Edward sighed.

"Yep." I said matter-of-factly, "You got us into this."

He sighed, and pulled me closer to him, resting his head on top of mine. "Oh, how bad can it be?"

"You have no idea." I sighed into his chest, dramatically. Tomorrow, Edward and the guys were going to learn something new; never willingly agree to any of Alice's plans.

* * *

**APOV**

"Roooooose!" I groaned and wiggled on the couch uncomfortably, "Can you please change the channel! I mean some of us are girls, we don't enjoy watching a mechanic show!"

"Did you just call me..._not_ a girl?" Rose asked, glaring at me from the other side of the couch.

I smiled smugly, glad that I had finally gotten her attention, and straighted up in my posture, holding my head high. "Why, yes. I believe I did." I said, then paused for a moment and then growled "Now give me the remote!" while I lunged for the remote that sat next to her on the couch.

Unfortunately, she was faster, and my hand clutched air. I growled under my breath, and spread my wings out in a threatening manner. I was just about to yell at her but was interrupted by the familiar ringing of 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua.

I squeaked in delight and flew across the room to my cell phone, excited to talk to Jasper. But to my surprise it wasn't him. I stared down at the screen in confusion.

"Who is it?" Rose asked as the phone continued to ring.

"It's...Edward." I said slowly, as I sat down next to her again.

"Ohh..." She said casually, "You and Edward got something going on too?"

"What!?" I squeaked, "Rose that's gross! You know I only got eyes for one man. Him and his delicious-"

"Woah, woah. No thanks, that wasn't an invitation to tell me about the things you do to Jasper!" She giggled as I flipped the phone open and put it on speaker phone.

"Yeeesss." I sang into the phone, trying to sound seductive just to creep him out.

"Ew, please don't answer the phone like that again." I heard him gag. Rose and I giggled.

"May I ask as to why you are calling me and not Bella? Not that I'm not flattered, but I kind of already have a man in my life."

"Ha ha, very funny." He said, and I could hear the sound of Jasper chuckling in the background. "Could you get Bella for me?"

"Hmm..." I hummed and was about to tell him it would cost him, when Bella just happened to walk in the room.

"Hey, who you talking to?" She asked and plopped down on the couch next to me.

"Your boyfriend," I giggled as I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. "He was calling me for a late night boot-"

"Hey!" Edward's voice yelled from the phone. "Don't go telling her our secrets!"

Rose and I laughed loudly, surprised that Edward actually played along this time and humored by Bella's shocked expression.

"E-excuse me?" She stuttered.

"Bella, we're kidding." I laughed, "He was just calling because... well I hadn't gotten to that part yet. Why are you calling Edward?"

"Well, _somebody_ doesn't seem to answer their phone. I've been trying to get a hold of her since I left the shop." Edward said.

"Ha!" I laughed, "I don't even know why I even gave her a cell phone. She doesn't use it for anything but a flashlight."

"Hey!" Bella growled in her own defense. "Who is there for me to call?"

"Uh, ME!?" Edward said.

"Okay, other then you." Bella sighed.

"Oh, don't I feel special now..." He sighed, but you could tell his was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, no!" Bella said, "That's not what I meant. I mean before you, the only people I had to call was Rose and Alice, and I am with them almost all the time."

"Mhmm...sure." Edward said quickly while Bella giggled.

"Uh, Edward?" I said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What's Jasper wearing _right now_." I asked, trying to suppress a giggle.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? He's standing right here and you're on speaker phone." Edward laughed, probably assuming I would be embarrassed._ Ha! As if!_

"Okay," I chirped, "Jazzy, what are you wearing?"

Bella squeaked in horror as she covered her ears. Rosalie just laughed.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me what _your _wearing." Jasper said, and I felt my stomach fill with the familiar butterflies at the sound of his husky voice.

"Deal. I'm wearing a pin-" I started but was interrupted by Emmett.

"Hey, hey!" He boomed, his voice sounded slightly far away. "I don't think anyone wants to hear this. Only if its what you're _not_ wearing."

All three of us girls gasped in horror as we heard the familiar sound of someone's hand colliding with the back of Emmett's head.

"Ouch! So uncalled for! You know it's true!" Emmett said.

"Oh! I got an idea!" I giggled and bounced in my seat. "Let's have a movie night!"

I waited for the guys to respond as Bella and Rose nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good." I heard Jasper say, "Your place or ours?"

"Yours!" Bella, Rose and I all shouted at the same time. Shit...we really needed to work on the subtleness of things. If we kept this up, they were bound to get suspicious. I guess it was understandable though, we never really had this kind of interaction with people. And it wasn't so much that we were hiding strange stuff around the apartment that would give away our secret, it was just that this was the one place where we didn't have to hide. And because we were so comfortable about being ourselves here, it would most likely be easier to slip up.

"Oh...kay." I heard Edward sigh, and I could hear the confusion in his voice.

"It's just....we uh...made a mess." I stuttered.

"Yep!" Rose chirped, "You know, there's like underwear and bras hanging everywhere..."

"Well then, why the hell are we still here! I wanna go there!" Emmett said.

"Uh, they are dirty...underwear?" Bella said, her comment coming out as a question. I knew we were desperate to get them to back off of the subject of coming over, but were we _that_ desperate? Bella can say some of the weirdest and most embarrassing things when she is flustered...

Rose snorted, trying to keep her laughter in. "Uh, yeah. Let's just have it at yours!"

"Fine!" I heard Emmett growl, his voice sounding far away as heavy footsteps echoed through the phone.

-.-.-

About half an hour later we were knocking on their door. I had a stack of dvd's while Rose had the cookies and Bella had pillows. We ended up staying up watching more then one movie and ended up arguing and laughing about what we were going to get for the costume party Friday.

During our last movie, we all fell asleep. Rose was lying half on top of Emmett on the floor in front of the TV. Bella and Edward were lying across the largest couch, Edward's arm wrapped around her waist from behind. Lucky for me, thanks to all my extra energy, I was awake the longest. Jasper saw that everyone was asleep and asked me if I wanted to sleep somewhere more comfortable. We snuck away to his room, and snuggled under the covered of his bed. It was the best night sleep I had had in a long time.

* * *

AN: Okay, so to be honest, I'm a little scared about how much fluff I'm putting into the story. I was worried this chap would be long, and I _tried_ to cut it down, but I couldn't...I love it all...This 'big reveal'(you know the whole finding out that the others are bird people, hehe) will be soon. In the next....oh I dunno, three chaps? I have the whole week planned out for them, and I'd make it sooner, but it just wouldn't work. The stuff I have planned for _before_ the big revealing helps bring their relationships closer, show you that they wuv each other, stuff like that.

So guys I really need you to talk to me. Speak up about any concerns you may have and I will consider them. Most importantly, tell me if you think I'm going overboard on something, okay? Tell me if you are getting bored, which I hope your not...cuz I'm having fun writing funny little situations for them.

Oh, and HALLOWEEN COSTUMES! I know you all will have fun with that. I am kinda counting on yall to give me good ideas, so give 'em!

VERY IMPORTANT INFO: The date for the halloween party, may or maynot change to Saturday. I was having a bit of trouble deciding. It all has to do with leading up to the big reveal, I just havn't figured out if I need it to be on Friday or Saturday. So it might change, and I'll let you know if it does...

Again if you read all this, THANKS! I know from experience that I kinda hate AN but its important. If you want to stop here....you can, but I have one thing to ask. Do y'all want me to reply to reviews? I love to...but I just didn't know if you like the author to reply. I mean its just lil ol' me :P Lil me who LOVES Jasper's husky, sexy voice! Mm-mm-mm.... hehe, did any of y'all swoon over Jasper's voice in the movie? Yeah, he didn't talk much, but I still loved it! Okay, sorry...I'm letting out my weird thoughts to y'all, can't you tell I need twilight fans to talk to?


	12. Chapter 11: Best Morning Ever

Hmm...long wait, sorry. This chapter is just fluff. I'm not exactly sure why it took so long, but here it is.

I would like to point out before you read, that Bella will be a little OOC in this chap. Don't you just ever have those days were your more witty and are more confident? I like to think Bella does, so here is her day. And I mean, who wouldn't be in an awesome mood if they woke up next to Edward Cullen?

Oh, and all the costumes will be on my profile. And remember, reviewing does yourself a favor! More reviews make me happy, and if I'm happy, the story is happy, and if the stories happy, YOUR HAPPY! Heh...

This chapter is dedicated to twilightlova10121, because she was the 90th review! Yaaay! You get...a thumbs up from me! lol

* * *

Chapter 11: Best Morning Ever

**EPOV**

I smiled as I stared down at a sleeping Bella. She was laying on her back beside me on the narrow couch sleeping peacefully. Every now and then she would murmur something in her sleep, bringing my gaze to her perfect lips, just begging me to taste them.

I shook my head in humor at how innocent she was. She didn't even know how beautiful and tempting she was, which made her all the more desirable.

As I watched her peaceful face, I tried to figure out the mystery that was Bella Hale. Though she had told me a lot about herself over the past few weeks, I still felt like there was something I was missing. Some vital piece of her life that I was looking past. And it bugged me to no end that I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

The only clues I had were the small, strange occurrences that happened every now and then. Like how they had yet to allow us into their apartment, how they seemed to be so reserved to everyone but us, and the little things like how they could hear things that none of us would be able to hear if it weren't for our weird genes.

But what could all that possibly mean? They were hiding something in their apartment that led them to stay away from people and cause them to have super hearing? Crazy, I tell you. There was no reasonable explanation for any of it.

Then there was the strange event at Bella's work. It was odd how Alice reacted so intensely to the back rub Jasper gave her. Though, even stranger was how Bella seemed to disapprove of it so much. What was so bad about Alice getting a back rub?

Then when Bella had the same exact reaction to it as Alice. Things just kept getting even more weird. What were the odds that two girls, who weren't even related by blood, had the same reaction to back rubs at the same exact spot? And even more, that it was exactly where we – Jasper, Emmett and I – liked out backs rubbed because that was were our wings were.

If it wasn't such a ludicrous thought, I would have guessed they were like us. But that would just be me hoping that there where others like us and that it would just happen to be Bella. Ha! The odds of that...

"Bel-la." I breathed as I gently dragged the tip of my finger from her hairline, across her cheek and down to her chin. She hummed sleepily, and turned slightly to bury her face in my chest.

"Its time to wake up." I whispered, as I rolled my shoulders uncomfortably. My back was killing me. I had never gone through a whole night of sleep with my wings still in, and I wasn't planning on doing it again in the near future. It felt like someone had a pointed iron rod stabbing into by back right between my shoulder blades. I would have to let them out before we went shopping today, or else I would be majorly grumpy.

"Mmm..." Bella groaned as her little hands fisted into my shirt. "Don't wanna. My back is killing me!"

"Same here." I groaned.

"And I was having an amazing dream too...mmm...cupcakes..." She mumbled, and I chuckled in response. She was obviously still half asleep.

"You had dreams about cupcakes?"

"Mmhmm... that and giant, man eating kittens."

I chuckled again at our common hatred for cats, the movement sending sharp pains through my back.

"Ehhh..." Bella groaned, "don't move! Ugh, it hurts."

Just hearing the pain in her voice, though it probably sounded worse because she was still half asleep, made me uneasy. I didn't ever want her beautiful voice to be masked with sadness, pain or anything that didn't belong. So I hugged her closer to me and began to rub her back, starting at her lower back and working my way up.

"Mmm... I wouldn't go anywhere near my shoulders unless you want a repeat of yesterday." She said sleepily.

As soon as the words left her mouth, my hands stilled. I definitely didn't want a repeat. Just thinking of the way my name came from her lips as she groaned, made my body hum with desire. Then thinking about it our current position...

My hands detached themselves from her back and hung awkwardly in the air. I really had no where to put them, other then on the couch behind her or at my side. But at the angle I was leaning towards her, I could most likely fall on top of her....and that would _not_ be good.

Thankfully before I made my decision on where to place my hands, she laid back down on her back, stretching her hands over her head. I sighed in relief and snuggled into her side, burying my face in the crook of her neck making her giggle. I took a deep breath, basking in her wonderful sent. I then placed a gentle kiss on her neck, right below her jaw, which caused her to shiver. Knowing the affect I had on her, I continued the light kisses all the way up to the edge of her lips. I stopped there, my lips still gently placed to her skin.

"Mmm..." She groaned, "Stop teasing me!"

I chuckled, glad that I got what I wanted which was for her to protest to my stopping. She giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck, as I connected my lips with hers. I tilted my head to the side to deepen the kiss as she dragged the tip of her tongue across my lower lip. I grinned, and pulled back, making my way back down her jaw. She growled in annoyance.

After a few moments, I felt her turn her head to look around the room, though I didn't stop my exploration of her neck.

"Where's Alice and Jasper?" She breathed. I placed one more open mouth kiss to her neck, right where her neck and shoulder met, then looked up to see that neither Jasper nor Alice were in the room. Rose and Emmett were still fast asleep on the floor.

"Mmm..." I mumbled, "You don't think he ate her, do you?"

"Hmm... Its possible. Though I'd be more worried about Alice eating him. Her and all her pixie energy, she needs to maintain a steady diet."

"Lets go find them." I said, then groaned in pain as I lifted myself up from the couch. I grabbed Bella around the waist and threw her over my shoulder.

"Edward!" She squealed, gently hitting my back with her fists.

"Shhh..." I hushed, gently tapping her on the butt. "You'll wake Rosalie and Emmett."

She growled in response, but stopped her thrashing. I made my way out of the living room and down the hall towards Jasper's room where I knew they most likely retreated to after the movie last night.

Sure enough, when I pushed the door open as quietly as possible, I saw that they where both spooning under the thick white comforter of his bed. I turned around to look at the door, giving Bella a look. She giggled, for what reason I didn't know.

Once I turned back around, she tapped be on the butt causing me to jump and whispered, "Put me down. I think its time for a little pay back."

I shrugged lightly then set her on her feet. She fixed her mussed up hair, and looked to me with a small smirk, her face slightly reddened from being upside down. She then turned around and jumped onto the bed, her weight barely tousling the two members who slept oblivious in it. That surprised me. It was such a graceful movement, what happened to her clumsiness?

I shook my head in confusion and looked back to Bella who was now standing over the two, her hands placed lightly on her slender hips. Her chest rose as she sucked in a big gulp of air, then fell rapidly as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Alice screeched in response as she jumped and buried her face in the pillow, throwing her arms over her head. Jasper's reaction was a little more subtle, seeing as he was woken up that way often by either Emmett or myself. His eyes just snapped open as he looked around for the source of the sound.

I chuckled as Alice began to shake, obviously scared by the wake up call. Seeing this, Bella laughed too then jumped on top of her, growling and hissing in an animal like way as she tickled her.

"I'm going to kill you, Bella!" Alice screamed into her pillow. She then turned to Bella and pushed her rather hard, sending her tumbling backwards. She continued to fall and did a backwards roll of the bottom of the bed, where I knew for sure she would fall on her head or some other vital body part. But before I could get to her, she had gracefully landed in a crouch on the floor.

Before I could ask Bella where she got her new gracefulness, Alice distracted me by standing up on the bed, glaring down at Bella who stood at the end of the bed, her head held high. A few moments passed by as they just glared at each other, then the next thing I know, Alice lets out a loud battle cry, her little arms extending out into the air, her head falling back as she yelled. She then launched herself at Bella from the bed and tackled her to the ground.

I watched in amusement as they began to wrestle like guys, wincing every now and then when I heard a loud smack. I would have broken it up immediately if it wasn't for the occasional giggle that came from them and the fact that neither of them seemed to actually be in pain.

"Wow!" I heard Emmett's voice from behind me. "What'd I miss? Sweet! Cat fight!"

Rosalie came up beside Emmett. When she saw Alice and Bella fighting, she met my gaze and shook her head."They do that a lot." She said, then walked slowly over to them, and pulled Alice off of Bella.

I laughed as Rose lifted her up off the ground as if she weighed nothing, then set her down on her butt on the floor a few feet away from Bella.

"Aw, Rosie." Emmett whined, "Why did you have to break it up! It was fun to watch!"

"If I didn't it would have gotten a lot worse, trust me. They get into these little scuffles often. Mostly over makeovers or shopping or just annoying the crap out of each other!"

Alice huffed, a small pout on her lips, and stood up. "Its her fault! She scared the livin' day lights out of me!"

"Paybacks a bitch." Bella giggled. Rosalie grabbed Alice by the waist as she tried to lung at Bella. Bella in turn bent her knees in a fighting position, then curled her finger at Alice, beaconing her to continue. I couldn't help but laugh at how adorable she looked.

"Okay!" Rosalie growled, obviously annoyed. "If you both are done acting like children, we do have some things to do today!"

"Oh!" Alice squealed in excitement, wiggling her way out of Rosalie's arms. "Shopping!"

Jasper, Emmett, Bella and I all groaned in response. A day of shopping for a Halloween costume wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to. Though I wouldn't mind seeing Bella in a few cute little outfits...

"Lets go get ready." Bella sighed. She then came up to me, pecked me on the lips, then headed towards the front door, Alice and Rosalie right behind her.

* * *

**BPOV**

"Ow, ow, ow!" Alice squeaked as she ran out of the elevator, Rose and I not far behind. I watching in humor as she ran down the hallway, pulling off her favorite 'I'm not short, I'm fun sized' t-shirt so that when she let her wings out it wouldn't rip her shirt.

I quickly did the same, not really wanting to wait to go to my apartment and change into a tank top. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I slept with my wings in. Now I know why; it was extremely painful. Our wings were like a major limb to us, like legs or arms. If you could just imagine sitting on your knees for, I don't know, eight hours straight, then standing...it pretty much felt like that. Very, very painful.

Though it was painful, I couldn't help but feel it was slightly worth waking up to Edward's gorgeous crooked smile. And his smell... Okay that sounded kind of creepy, but you get what I mean. He just smells so good...

But then the pain came and I was forgetting all about waking up in his arms and began to debate with myself if it would be rude to just up and run for the apartment without a word. You know the pain is bad when you are distracted by it when you're in the arms of Edward Cullen.

I sighed in relief as I felt my wings break through the skin on my back. I stretched them a few times as I made my way into my apartment for a tank top. When I had put one on I made my way down to Rosalie's apartment, our usual place to congregate.

"Ugh." I heard Rosalie groan as I entered her apartment. She was standing in her living room, stretching out her wings. Alice was beside her, doing some crazy little jig...why she was dance, I don't know. I had learned to not ask about Alice's craziness a long time ago. Whenever I asked about the little weird things she did, it led to a long, _long_ explanation that really didn't have a point...

I laughed as Alice began to hum to herself as she rocked her head from side to side. Then a thought came to me...

"Crap!" I hissed, "Guys, aren't we going to be trying clothes on all day?"

"Yeah, why?" Alice asked, stopping her dance and quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Well, our backs aren't exactly going to be healed fully by the time we get to the store."

"Oh, dang..." Alice breathed, her head dropping down as she thought to herself.

"Well...we will just have to be careful, cant be that hard, right?" Rosalie said.

"Sometimes I wish we were just normal..." I whined, "It would be so much easier, not having to worry about little things, like our quick reflexes, amazing hearing, good eye sight, the strength or the fact that we heal so quickly! I mean, what the hell are we going to do if we cut ourselves around them? What are we going to tell them?"

"Ugh, Bella. Not again with the pity party." Rose growled, "I'm sick of it. We can't back out now, so you are just going to have to deal with it and stop feeling sorry for yourself. We are all going through the same thing. We just need to be careful, it is not that big of a deal!"

"Rose is right. Worrying about what _could_ happen won't do anything. We just need to watch ourselves and have fun while everything is going good." Alice said.

"I guess your right. I just can't help it though. Remember a few weeks ago when we were deciding how to go about all this? How I said this could be harmful to our hearts? Well, I feel it now... I can already feel what it would be like to be away from him. And just the thought of it hurts." I said softly, the tears starting to form in my eyes.

Alice and Rose 'awed' and came up to me and pulled me into a group hug. We all giggled and at the lack of space between all the wings that were crammed into each others.

"Its okay, Bella, we know how you feel. But no matter what happens, we will still have each other. Whats that poem or some crap you like to read? Its better to have love and lost, then to never loved at all?" Alice said.

I laughed. "_I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost-- Than never to have loved at all._ Its by Alfred Lord Tennyson."

"Yeah, yeah." Alice giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "Its true. I'd rather have as much time as I can get to love Jazz, then to never have at all."

"Yeah, we just have to enjoy it for as long as we can." Rose sighed, smiling sadly down at me, tears beginning to form in her eyes. It was time for Alice and I to 'aw' and hug each other tighter.

We giggled and playfully swatted at each other with our wings as we hugged for a few more minutes. I couldn't remember the last time we'd had a 'gushy' moment together. We had lived with each other so long that it was just so normal for us to torment each other like normal sisters do. That and it never really got very sad around here, since we used to never have friends - only going to work during the day and coming home to hang out with each other.

"Okay, okay!" Alice giggled, "Enough touchy feely crap! Lets get all primped for our shopping trip!"

* * *

"Hell no!" I shouted so that the guys could hear me also. I grimace at myself in the mirror, shaking my head vigorously. I was standing in the small dressing room of the Halloween store, looking at the gross image of me in tight leather shorts that could easily be categorized as underwear, fish net pantie hoes, and a tight leather vest that only reached to about a centimeter below my navel. _Who the hell picked this out for me!? Emmett!? What the hell am I even supposed to be? A hooker?_

"There is no way in hell I am stepping out of this dressing room!" I growled, staring at my breasts that seemed to almost pop out of the tiny vest. I cocked my head to the side and lifted them up, giggling at the squeaky noise the leather made.

"Oh, come on Bella!" Alice growled, "Its probably not even that bad. It couldn't be nearly as bad as Emmett's..."

"Yeah, Bella." Rose giggled, "You _have_ to see this!"

I growled under my breath, now seriously wondering what silly thing Emmett had done now...

"But it looks so gross!" I whined, "I'm going to scar you all for life!" I stomped my feet as I looked around the tiny space for any accessories that I missed with this outfit. I picked up the bag it came in and pulled out little black cat ears. _Cat woman? Where's the mask? Whip? Obviously these people have never seen the comic books._

"Bellaaaa." I heard Edward's silky voice from right outside the door. My eyes widened when I looked down to see his feet right beside the door. For some weird reason I was freaked out by the close proximity, as if he could see right through the wooden door between us.

"Humph." I huffed and unlocked the door, knowing they would bug me until I complied and mostly because I was curious to see what Edward was trying on.

I adjusted the little black cat ears on my head and pushed the door open. As soon as I took in all my friends standing outside, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Alice was off to the left standing beside Jasper who was clad in leather chaps with little plastic guns hanging from each side of his hip, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. Alice was wearing a little red dress that hung a little over an inch above her knee. It had a little red tail and she wore a red head band with horns on it. Rose was wearing a nylon, pink dress with knee length white go go boots. My guess was that she was a Barbie.

And then there was Emmett. He was standing beside Rose with his head held high with his hand on his hips. The first thing I saw were the _extremely_ tight green tights. Then my gaze fell upon the brown shoe covers that pointed at the tip and green hat with a feather sticking out of it. Wow, Peter Pan. Figures he would go for the strangest and most unfitting costume...

Then..._oh sweet baby Jesus..._

Edward grinned crookedly at me, as I groaned at the sight of him. _Tight...leather...pants. Oh dear... _

"Like it?" He asked, his voice a little shaky as he watched me. When I looked to his face(ya, his tight leather pants were a _little_ distracting), I saw that he wasn't looking at my face, but a little lower...

Thats when I remembered the ridiculous outfit someone put in my pile of things to try on. I blushed like crazy as I avoided everyones gaze and crossed my arms over my chest, trying my best to hide the cleavage.

"Okay!" I hissed, now pointedly glaring at every single person near me(other then Edward, well because...hes Edward!). "Who put this in my pile!"

I growled as it seemed to get extremely quiet, everyone looking off into different directions. When my gaze came to Alice, who was innocently picking at her nail, I smiled menacingly.

"Ali?" I asked sweetly and almost laughed when she jumped in fear at my tone of voice. "I like the costume. It suits you."

"Hey!" She growled, "It wasn't me this time!" I could see it in her eyes that she was lieing. She was getting a little better at it, but I could still see right through her.

"Then who was it?"

Rose coughed and elbowed Emmett who jumped and looked around confusedly.

"What?" He asked, "Why would I want to see _Edward's_ girlfriend in a skimpy cat woman outfit?"

"Great!" Alice growled, "_Now_ he picks the time to pay attention! Well, whatever. It was me! So kill me! Now, line up!" She then stomped her foot and held her head high as she waited for everyone to line up for the 'Alice' inspection.

Everyone hurriedly got into a straight line, fearing Alice's wrath if they took a moment too long to do as she said. I however, wasn't scared. So I very, _very_ slowly walked to the end of the line to stand by Edward. I yelped when a small hand collided with my butt, then turned to glare at Alice who gave me a don't-start-with-me look. I huffed and took my place in line.

I watched in amusement as Alice slowly walked down the line like a general in the military, occasionally ordering someone to stand straighter. I didn't miss the look of admiration that shown on Jasper's face as he watched her in fascination. _Him and his war/army obsessions..._

When she disapprove of Rosalie's and Emmett's(thank god she didn't approve of it, you could see _every_ part of his male anatomy!), she finally came to Edward and frowned.

"I don't like it. You don't really look like a bounty hunter..." She said, shaking her head in disappointment.

Was that what he was suppose to be? Ha! I couldn't even get past the tight leather pants to even look to see what he was.

"And Bella." Alice sighed as she stopped in front of me. "I have to say, you pull it off well." - I promptly snorted and laughed at this - "But you look like a hooker..."

"I'll be sure to pick something more suitable, sir!" I bellowed, stomping my feet together and saluting.

"Good! Next outfit!" She said loudly, then ran to her dressing room, everyone else following her lead.

-.-.-.-.-.-

A few hours later and we had all finally made it out of the mall in one piece.

Rosalie have decided on a very slimming red racing jumpsuit that had black and white checker pattern across the chest. Along with it she found some long leather black boots and a red motorcycle helmet.

Jasper chose his the first thing he tried on - the light brown cowboy costume. It came with a vest, chaps and toy guns - Emmett and him had a lot of fun with those.

Alice only found it fit that she go as Alice in Wonderland. Though it took a while - seeing as almost all the choices either showed too much leg or too much cleavage - she finally found one that was the least revealing. For accessories she bought knee length white socks, shiny stiletto heels and a head band with a big bow on it.

And Emmett being...well _Emmett_, decided to be Abraham Lincoln. Do not ask why, because none of us understand his reasoning, only he will ever know. While he was picking out the perfect beard, we asked him why he wanted to be Abraham Lincoln and the only reply we got was 'Who _wouldn't _want to be the amazing Abe?'. Yeah, I could practically feel the waves of embarrassment rolling off of Rosalie.

Edward chose to be superman in disguise. It was pretty much a normal casual suit, but the shirt was pulled open to reveal the superman costume. Of course, he looked extremely sexy in it. Though I think he could make woman's clothing sexy...

And then there was me. I went with the basic choice – an angel. Of course Edward had to make me blush like crazy by telling me it suit me perfectly. And then when he looked at me with an unfathomable expression when I put the cheap fake wings on – which I found laughably ironic – made me blush even more!

Of course those floppy wings didn't satisfy Alice, so she drug us across town to a nicer store to buy me the 'super bad ass angel wings I deserved'. Her words not mine. And boy where the wings she chose amazing, though the price was a little too high for my taste... Instead of the floppy wings that came with the outfit, the nicer ones were a lot more sturdier and had a metal frame that let them spread back and away from me.

Rose, Alice and I had a giggle fest when we saw them on me. It was so much like my own, though they were a lot smaller. While we giggled at our own little joke, the three guys got _very_ quiet. Why that was, I never found out, so I just chalked it up to one of the many strange occurrences.

Overall the day was fun, I don't think a day could _not_ be good if it was spent with all of the people you cared about the most. Though it was enjoyable, it left me in a strange place(figuratively, of course).Lately I had been feeling like there was something I was missing about Jasper, Emmett and Edward. Maybe it was their reactions to certain things, or the fact that they too didn't seem to have friends other then us. I mean they were great guys, why would they be so reserved? What exactly were they hiding?

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the sucky ending, for some reason I had trouble bringing it to an end... Anyways, next chapter is an important one. And you get a Rosalie's POV! I've already started it, so it shouldn't take forever...I don't think... (Heh, ever notice how that phrase sounds? 'I don't think', its kind of like your saying you can't form thoughts! :P) So review because they make me supa happy!


	13. Chapter 12: Beginning of the End

A/N: Oh, wow, 18 review on the last chap? Amazing!! What's also amazing? A new chap so soon! Its shorter...so that might be why I finished so soon. So I have a few things I wanna say, so here we go!

- This story is going to be long...Just thought you should know. I don't think I'm going to split it up and make a sequal just because I don't think I'd know where to split it up, you know? So you guys okay with a long story?

- I don't know a lot about...mechanics and stuff... so I didn't know what to call those things mechanics use to lift a car up into the air... so I just called it a 'lift'. And those things ppl used to use to lay under cars, the things that roll? Ya, didn't know what those were called...so just described it to ya...

So before you read, I'd like to say this chapter is dedicated to **Black Moon Falling**, because of her very sweet review! So thanks! Your review made me smile! And believe it or not, I really needed to hear that. Most of the times I actually hate what I write...but you all seem to like it! :) So thanks, your da best! :P

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Chapter 12: Beginning of the End

Wednesday, October 29th, 7:00 a.m.

**RPOV**

I grinned as I made my way to the elevator, calling a goodbye to Alice and Bella who were still getting ready for work. I don't think the goofy grin has ever left my face since my first date with Emmett. It was crazy to even think that I, Rosalie Hale, Miss Independent, would feel so deeply about a man.

Ever since we decided that it was best not to let anyone know about our secret, I had come to terms with the fact that I wasn't ever going to have a boyfriend or get married. Well, even now I don't believe I can or will get married. What if Emmett wants to have children? I definitely can't have children. I would never curse a child with my own burden. Not that I hate what I am, don't get me wrong, I don't absolutely loath it. Its just, I would want my child to live a normal, happy life, just like any other mother would.

So once I had come to terms with the whole no male relationships, I had sort of began to loath them. You know, the hating what you can't have kind of thing? Ya, that and it was easy to hate something that can be so pigheaded at times. I mean you hear it from almost every female, about how much of a lazy pig their husbands or boyfriends are. So hating guys was how I coped with not being able to have a boyfriend.

But then I met Emmett, along with Jasper and Edward. They were all so..._different. _Just by interacting with them, you could tell they weren't like other men. They were obviously raised to be polite, seeing as they were perfect gentlemen. Well, _most of the time._

Then Emmett and his adorable dimpled face worked its way into my heart. There was no doubt that I loved him. Him and all his glory, including his sexual innuendos and lame jokes.

When I first met him, I never expected for us to get along really. He was so loud and obnoxious. But then when I got to know him when he wasn't around his brothers, he was a totally different person. He still had all his jokes, but he was extremely sweet. Always holding your hand, asking if there was anything you needed, if you were too cold, and even randomly asking what was on your mind. I couldn't help but grin like a love struck puppy when he asked me that, it was hard not too, mostly because he actually sounded interested in what I was thinking.

Also what I love about Emmett was that he wasn't one to try and impress you. He wasn't the one to hold out the chair for you and stuff along those lines. And thats what I liked. I was always the independent type, I don't need my chair pulled out for me, I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Its not that I hate chivalry, no I do, its just not for me. I've always felt that when I had little things like that done for me, I feel incompetent.

"I sure hope your day dreaming about me." I heard a deep voice say from in front of me. I lifted my eyes from the floor, where they had been zoned out, and rested my eyes on Emmett who was grinning cheekily at me as he stepped into the elevator.

"Of course, who else would I be day dreaming about?" I giggled, as he wrapped his arms around me, resting his fore head against mine. "Hi." I whispered.

"Good morning, Beautiful." He said, then bent down to gently place his lips to mine. Thats what I also loved about Emmett; even though he is full of sexual implication and jokes, not once has he ever been perverted about some of our more intimate moments. He has always been gentle, sometimes even _too_ gentle for my tastes.

When he pulled back, he grinned wider, his eyes twinkling. "Have I ever told you that I love seeing you in your work uniform? Its extremely sexy." He said huskily, the sound sending a shiver up my spine. As I was about to reply, he looked up from my uniform and captured my lips again, this time a little more firmly as he tightened his grip on me. I smiled into the kiss, not even needing proof anymore that he liked my outfit.

"So you off to work too?" I asked when he pulled away. He rested his fore head against mine again, just smiling down at me in adoration.

"Actually, I have the day off. I was just coming down to take a look at Edward's precious Volvo. He took Camila this morning because it wouldn't start." He said as the doors to the elevator opened up to the lobby. He took my hand in his and led us to the parking lot.

"I'm actually glad I ran into you this morning." He continued as we stopped in front of the shiny Volvo that was parked next to Jasper's black mustang. "I know nothing about his stupid shiny Volvo, so I was wondering if you could take a look at it."

"Oh, is that the only reason you're glad you ran into me?" I teased, yanking my hand from his. I rested my hands on my hips and tapping my foot, while playfully glaring at him.

"Of course not, baby."

"Mhmm. Sure." I nodded, reaching under the hood of the Volvo to open it up. "Guess thats all I'm good for."

"You know I didn't mean it like that." He chuckled.

I huffed and shook my head, crossing my arms as I stared at the engine. I heard him take a few steps towards me, until he was standing right beside me. Then I shrieked in surprise as he grabbed me by the waist and proceeded to bury his face into my neck, his stubbled cheeks tickling me.

"Stop!" I giggled, as he then began to tickle my sides.

"Say you believe me!" He laughed into my neck.

"I believe you, I believe you!" I laughed.

"Good, now get to work!" He teased, his dimples showing as he grinned at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, and playfully shoved past him back to the Volvo.

"Hmm..." I hummed, "I'll need to take a better look at it. How about you come with me to work, and I'll get Frank to tow it back to the shop."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

"Good morning, Frank." I smiled as I walked towards Frank, who was leaning beside the front door of the shop. He's always here before me, so I have tried many times to convince him to carry a key to the place so he didn't have to wait outside. He always refused though, saying he could barely remember to lock his own house, let alone carry a key to the shop.

"Mornin', hon." He replied, smiling back at me.

I had met Frank a while before I opened the shop, he used to own his own when he was younger. He showed me a few things I needed to know about running the place and in return I gave him the job of towing cars to and from the shop. He had never told me his actual age, I think because he didn't want me to worry about him working. Though the fact that he wouldn't tell me, worried me even more.

I unlocked the door and motioned for Emmett to follow. "Frank, this is Emmett. Emmett, Frank." I said, smiling. They both nodded and shook hands. "Frank we already got a tow for you this morning."

"What? What do you mean? I already got all my toes." Frank chuckled as pointed down at his right boot.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Frank." I laughed, "I mean Emmett's brother has a Volvo that wont start. He lives in my building so its not too far from here."

"Okay, okay."

"Let me just go write down the info." I said, and walked back to my office, leaving Emmett with Frank. I grabbed a post it off of my desk and wrote down the license plate of the Volvo and the directs. While I was making my way back, I heard them talking around the corner and couldn't resist eavesdropping.

"So what are your intentions with, Rosie?" I heard Frank asked. _Oh boy, the man thinks he is my father..._

"Uhh..." Emmett stumbled for something to say. I couldn't blame him. Emmett knew I didn't have a father, so I'm sure he wasn't prepared for this kind of interrogation.

"Well, spit it out!" Frank snapped, though I could tell he wasn't really mad. He was messing with Emmett.

"Uh, I love her?" Emmett said, his statement coming out as a question.

"You sound like you're not sure."

Emmett cleared his through, and then I heard a chair scrape against the floor like he was sitting up straighter. "No, sir. I know for a fact I love Rosie. I care about her more then my own life."

My heart fluttered at his declaration. I had known that I had fallen in love with him, which was amazing all on its own, but knowing he loved me? That was even better.

"Good, because I like you kid. And I find its about time Rose found someone to love her, she's an amazing girl."

"That she is." Emmett said quietly.

"Got it!" I said as I stepped around the corner. I handed Frank the directions, and once he had kissed me on the cheek, he was on his way to retrieve the Volvo.

While we waited for Frank to return, I helped customers while Emmett lounged off to the side in a fold out chair. I was just pulling in a 1974 VW beetle that a woman dropped off when Frank pulled up with Edward's Volvo.

I directed Frank as he backed the Volvo into the garage. Emmett and Frank helped me get it into place and once we were done I saw Frank eying the yellow beetle out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Rose." Franks said, lifting an eyebrow at me. "You think I could work on her?"

My eyebrows scrunched in worry as I watched Frank's hopeful face. I didn't really feel comfortable letting him work on a car, he was in pretty good shape, but I knew he wasn't fit for doing any heavy stuff.

"I don't know, Frank..." I sighed, looking from the small beetle and back to him.

"Oh, come on! I can handle a little oil change!" He said, looking at me with an exasperated look.

"Okay, okay! Fine! But be careful, please!" I said, my heart slightly aching at the thought of him getting hurt. In a way I felt as if he was a father to me. I grew up not having any father figure, and it was easy for me to see him that way when I met him. In a way he did treat me like a daughter, the whole Emmett interrogation a clear example.

"Of course!" He laughed, his eyes smiling at the prospect of work. "You act like I've never worked on a car before!"

"Yes, you have, but not with our new equipment." I argued as I began to raise the Volvo on the lift so that I could get a look underneath it.

"Oh, it doesn't matter how you do it. Its all the same." He said, and walked away without giving me a chance to reply. I watched in concern as he started to get stuff ready for his work.

"He'll be okay, Rosie." Emmett said, "I'll keep an eye on him."

"I heard that!" Frank half yelled. "Will you guys stop acting like I'm some kind of child that needs to be looked after! I'll be fine!"

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness and my thoughts went straight to Bella. Boy, would Frank and Bella get along...

Emmett smiled at me and returned to his chair, pulling a magazine off of the table beside it. I sighed heavily as I looked up at the Volvo's engine.

"Ugh, Frank!" I groaned as I caught sight of him when I turned to get a better look at the engine. "Why the hell are you using that jack? Whats wrong with the lift its sitting on!?"

Frank had used the jack you would normally use for changing a tire on the side of the road. I didn't like him using that kind, it just didn't seem sturdy enough.

I heard Frank grumble in irritation from underneath the car as he continued his work. "I like doing it this way! So go on with your own business and leave me be!"

I growled in frustration and went back to my work. I had to go over the engine a few times to make sure I had checked everything, since half of my attention was on Frank, making sure he was okay.

"Shit!" Frank hiss just as I heard the sound of liquids dripping onto the ground.

I looked over with just enough time to see Frank jump in surprise as oil came running from the car onto his jacket. In doing this, he managed to kick the jack with his foot as he fought to close the cap on the oil drain.

"Frank!" I screamed as the jack slid, causing the beetle to fall. It landed on Frank, who was laying on the padded seat we used to lay under the cars. The height of the seat he was lying cause the belly of the beetle to slam down on him and I suddenly wished that the bench he was lying on wasn't made of mettle.

Frank cried out in pain as I ran full speed towards him. Without thinking, I grabbed the side of the bug and lifted it just enough for me to grab Franks leg and yank him out from underneath it. I dropped the bug and stopped Frank from rolling across the room since I had yanked him pretty hard.

"Frank!" I cried, as I knelt down beside him. His face was scrunched in pain. I frantically looked up to find Emmett just standing there watching me with wide eyes. I opened my mouth to scream at him, but before I could get a word out he was on his way towards my office to call an ambulance.

"Ouch." Frank groaned, and I felt the tears come faster. "Oh, Rosie, calm down. I'm fine, just a little bruised up."

"No, Frank, you're not okay! You just had a car fall on top of you!" I hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, happens all the time." He said, his voice slightly strained as he smiled up at me. I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped through my quiet sobs.

"Ambulance is on the way." Emmett said as he ran into the room. He stood a few feet away, staring sadly down at Frank, his eyes defocussing slightly as he thought hard about something. After a few minutes, he looked back at me, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion, and I knew instantly why that was.

This was it; the beginning of the end. He knew something was off as he looked from me and to the small beetle. Though I was glad that Frank didn't seem to think about it all too much, I was heartbroken because I knew that this would change everything.

I knew it would happen sooner or later, but why so soon? Couldn't I just have a little more time with Emmett before my world crumbled without him?

**

* * *

**

**APOV**

"Which one do you like better?" I asked Jasper, grinning as I held up two Gucci pumps. I peeled my eyes off of the shoes in my hands to Jasper, who I found wasn't even paying attention. He was slumped in a chair a few feet away, as he stared blankly up at the ceiling, his mouth slightly agape. I had to try extremely hard to suppress a laugh because he see seriously looked like he wasn't all there.

"Jasper!" I growled, stomping my foot.

"Huh?" He jumped in his seat, his head snapping down to look at me.

"I was asking you a very important question!" I said, pouting slightly.

"I'm sorry... I'm just so bored!" He groaned as he lazily pulled himself up from the chair and sauntered over to me.

I shook my head and placed the two shoes back on the display. "See, I can't figure out which shoe will look better with that new skirt I bought." I began as soon as he was standing beside me. "See this one has the same color purple, but then this one had that little shade of green tha-" I was cut off my the sight of Jasper playing with the buckle of a shoe, his finger lazily flicking it up and down as his head fell to the side lazily.

"Jasper! How old are you?" I sighed, shaking my head at my childish boyfriend.

He grinned all of a sudden, then grabbed me by the side, bringing his lips to my ear. "Old enough to make _sweet _..._passionate _...music..." He breathed into my ear, then placed a light kiss to it.

By the time he had finished my heart felt as if it was going to burst out of my chest. My mind had instantly went to the gutter, though I knew for a fact that was his intention.

"Jasper Whitlock Cullen!" I hissed as he began to slowly walk away from me, his hands placed lazily in his pockets as he whistled.

I ran after him just as we made it to the entrance of the store. I growled playfully as I flung myself onto his back. He stumbled slightly from the force but held onto my arms that were wrapped around his neck.

"Don't think you're going to get off that easy!" I whispered seductively into his ear, right before I licked the shell of his ear. He groaned and shivered as I smiled in triumph. I was about say more when my phone began to ring from inside my purse. I shrugged, knowing that my stopping the punishment he was waiting for was painful enough, and jumped off his back. I dug through my purse and pulled out my phone.

"Talk to me." I answered, as I walked past Jasper towards the exit.

I heard a few sniffles as whoever was on the other line sucked in a deep breath to speak. "Ali." I heard Rose squeak as she began to sob into the phone.

"Rose? Are you okay? What happened?" I cooed, as I stepped outside.

"It happened." She said simply, and I felt my heart sink.

I clasped onto the phone with as much strength as I could muster up as my face fell and my knees began to shake. I knew instantly what she was talking about, I didn't need any further explanation.

_No! _My mind screamed at me, _It can't happen yet! Its only been two weeks! Didn't I deserve longer then that? I hadn't even gotten the chance to tell Jasper I loved him!_

I felt my eyes fill with tears as I felt the presence of Jasper behind me. I couldn't bear to look at his sweet face and know that soon I would be ending it with him. I would be breaking his heart, along with shattering mine.

I wouldn't hear his voice when he called me in the mornings before work anymore. I wouldn't see the small dimples that shown when he was smiling _my_ smile, the smile he had specifically for me. I wouldn't hear him call me 'darlin' anymore. I wouldn't get anymore surprise visits at work from him. But I _would_ see his heartbroken face as I told him that I could no longer see him anymore.

And I wouldn't just be heartbroken, it would be far worse then that. Jasper was my sun on a cloudy day. He made my dull, secluded life worth living. How do you live without the one thing you wake up in the morning for?

You don't. This wouldn't just break my heart, it would break _me. _

* * *

AAHHH, bet you weren't expecting that! I know it was short, but it was a quicker update, so it kinda makes up for it, right? Next chapter I think will be short too... but will probably be a quicker update. I would update quicker...but my sister's kinda like my beta, in a way. I let her read it before I post it, and it takes me forever to get her to read it and tell me if it sounds okay! So, blame her! I would have had this up Sunday if she had read it for me! :P So remember, review because its doing yourself a favor!


	14. Chapter 13: Tears

Chapter 13: Tears

Wednesday, October 29th, 6:15 p.m. (Same day as last chapter)

**APOV**

I took a nice deep breath as the elevator doors opened to the apartment, readying myself for what was to come. I knew what was inevitably going to happen, so I didn't know if I wanted to hear how or why. If it was going to be over something little, then I knew I would become furious and instantly loath what I am, bringing me deeper into my depression. And that would be pretty deep, seeing as I was already feeling like I wanted to ask Bella and Rose to go bury me into the deepest hole possible.

I frowned as I slowly walked out of the elevator, feeling as if I was walking to my death. Though the moment I left Jasper at the mall felt like my death...

"_What's wrong, Ali?" Jasper asked softly as he frowned down at me. I sniffed as the tears came harder, and turned to look up at his angelic face. I took a moment to look over every little detail of his face as he stared me straight in the eye, his eyebrows scrunched in concern. _

_A loud sob broke through my lips as his frown deepened and he gently reached up to cup my face in his hands, his thumb wiping away my tears. "Alice." He breathed._

_I smiled as best I could, my lips trembling slight as I moved my hands to either side of his face. I gently ran the tips of my fingers over every small curve and dip on his face, stalling slightly on the dip between his lip and chin._

_I never wanted to forget this face, the face that made me realize how much my life was better with him. How much I was suffering before I met him, something I hadn't even realized until I knew what it was like with him. But now that I have to leave, I have to turn back to the pathetic excuse for a life, one without him in it._

"_I'm fine." I said quietly, "Just emotional, is all." _

_I smiled and waited for him to believe my words, though I knew that was a long shot. We knew each other like the back of our hands, I could read his facial expressions and know exactly what he was feeling, as he could do the same for me. _

"_No, you're not okay." He said, his voice confident. "Tell me whats wrong, Alice."_

_I frowned, having heard the pain in his voice and I knew it was simply because I was in pain. We were already so connected. This was going to be the most painful thing I could ever do. _

_I sucked in a deep breath, building myself up for the lie I had to tell him. I couldn't tell him why I was upset, but I could try my best to get him to let me leave. _

"_I'll call you later, okay? I'll tell you everything." I lied through my teeth. There was no way I was actually going to call him later. This was it, the last time I would gaze into his beautiful blue eyes._

_So I kept my face perfectly blank as I silently begged for him to believe me and let me go without anymore fuss. _

_He stared at me for a moment, as if reading me as thoroughly as possible. Finally he smiled weakly and nodded. "Okay." He breathed, running his thumb over my cheek one more time before bending over to kiss me._

_I tried, oh how I tried to stay in control as his lips touched mine. I didn't want him to feel the pain and desperation in my kiss. But the harder I tried to make the kiss indifferent and like all the others, it got harder to contain and my body had other ideas. I quickly entangled my fingers into his hair, roughly pulling his face closer to mind to deepen the kiss. And every second that his lips were on mine, I memorized the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. I never wanted to forget the affect he had on me, even when I was silently dieing inside._

_My heart broke inside me, as his own kisses became rough and desperate, as if he could sense that this was the last time we would be together. I cursed my body for not listening to me when I tried to keep the kiss calm. I wanted our break to be as least painful to him as possible. I didn't care if it tore me up, just as long as he was okay._

_We finally broke apart, gasping for the air I didn't welcome, air I didn't want to breath once I left him. What would be the point anymore? He was my life, so why take the air that gave me it? It would only continue my suffering. I only wanted my life source to be from him and only him._

_I pulled him to a hug, locking my arms around him and squeezing as hard as I could without breaking him. Then I took a step back and smiled up at him. "Goodbye, Jasper." I said, and I hated the way it came out. It sounded so final...which wasn't how I wanted it to sound at all._

_Without giving him a chance to say anything I turned on my heels and walked back to my car. "I love you." I whispered quietly to myself, just wanted the words to flow from my mouth when I was near him. Even if he didn't hear it, I still wanted to say it... for the first and last time._

Before I had even reached the door to Rosalie's apartment, I could hear the quiet sobs, though I was a little unnerved that it only came from one person. I knew that Bella was home and that if she wasn't crying that it wasn't a good sign.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes at full force as I reached Rosalie's living room where I saw both Rose and Bella sitting on the couch. Rose had her knees pulled up to her chest as she cried into the pillow she had clutched to her, while Bella sat quietly with her hands in her lap, staring off into space with an empty look in her eyes.

I knew that was exactly how Bella was going to be from now on. She had always been the type to suffer in silence, to not show her emotions around anyone, and that broke my heart. She never wanted to burden people with her emotions or problems, though I knew it would only make it worse for her if she didn't let it out. It pained me that she closed off like this, we were her sisters, we were here exactly for that reason – to help her cope with things.

Without saying a word, I sat my purse on the floor and went to sit in between them. I too brought my knees to my chest as I waited for someone to break the silence. I would have...if it wasn't for the tight feeling in my throat from my trying to keep from sobbing.

"So when are we going to do it?" Bella asked in a dead tone, not taking her eyes off of the wall. I shivered at the sound, knowing that this was just as painful for her.

"Well don't you sound crushed, Bella!" Rose spat, most likely letting out her anger on Bella. I knew if she thought about it, she would know why Bella was acting like this.

"Whatever." Bella said, glaring over at Rose, "I don't care to hear it, Rose. Why don't you go find someone else who wants to hear you run your mouth? Maybe someone who you can beat down, because you can't beat someone down who is already there!"

"Stop!" I shrieked, "This isn't helping! I know you are both mad, but do _not_ take it out on each other, we are all each other has right now!"

They both sighed, out of defeat and anger. I rubbed my fingers over my temples, trying to gather my jumbled thoughts. It was hard thinking thoroughly with a broken heart. The pain I felt in my chest was clouding my thoughts, making it almost impossible to focus. And I don't mean a figurative pain. No, it was an actual ache. The pain I felt in my mind had spread to actual physical pain. My stomach ached, making me feel as if I could at some point meet my lunch again, and my chest burned with every breath I took. Like my lungs were seeking Jasper's familiar sent and was starving without it.

"Oh, Ali." Rose sighed as he pulled me into a tight hug and only then did I realize I was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I can't live without him, Rosie." I cried into her shoulder. After a few moments, I felt a warm body wrap around me from behind, and I smiled slightly.

"Don't cry, pixie." Bella breathed, her voice slightly strained as she tried to hold her indifferent physique.

"How did it happen?" I asked, sniffling as I pulled away from Rose.

I watched as Rose clamped her eyes shut, most likely trying to hold back the tears that came with the memory of why we had to end it with the guys.

"Well I was at work, and I had let Frank work on this 1974 VW beetle. He used one of those traditional jacks instead of the lift we usually use. While he was checking the oil, he forgot to place the bowl under the car before he opened the cap and it drained all over him. It shocked him and he accidentally kicked the jack out from under the car. It landed on him so I did the only thing I could – I lifted it up with my hand and pulled him out with the other..."

"And Emmett saw you do it?" Bella asked.

"Yes." Rose cried as she wiped the tears of her cheeks.

"So he could just think you're freakishly strong!" I said, trying to get some shred of hope.

"No." Rose said, shaking her head. "After the accident, he was really quiet. He kept looking from me and to the car. He looked thoughtful the whole time, like he was trying to figure something out. Thoughtful! Emmett _never_ looks thoughtful! He knows something is up and I'm even surprised he hasn't interrogated me yet."

I frowned as I thought this over. Now that I think about it, it was a pretty sketch move. We couldn't just blame it on Rosalie's adrenaline rush or freakishly strong biceps. It was a freaking car! They would never believe us!

"Alice, will you use your crazy intuition to figure out what to do?" Rose asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. I cried and pulled her to me, having never seen Rosalie so broken before.

"I'll try." I whispered as I pulled back and opened my arms wide for my girls to snuggle close to me. I giggled as they both hugged each of my side, burying the side of their face into my chest like little kids.

As we sat quietly holding each other, I closed my eyes and willed that little 'intuition' to speak to me. It wasn't really a little voice per se, but more like a hunch. A very big hunch. Its like that moment you think of a scenario for some situation, and you just know thats whats going to happen.

So thats what I do. I close my eyes, and think of every single possible outcome of this horrible situation, and wait for that feeling to come to me. Of course, I started with the obvious. Like will I be with Jazzy in the end? Or will everything work out for the better?

In all the time I had this little 'hunch', I never started with the bad ideas. Maybe it was because I was an optimistic person, but I just think its my hunch having a hunch. Sort of like I had a hunch that my 'intuition' was going to be good.

So I ran various questions along in my head to see which one felt right. _In the end, are we going to be happy? Will we be with the one we love? Will our secret be in danger of getting out? _

A few tears fell from my eyes as I waited...and waited... But nothing came. No little voice, no feeling, no hunch, no nothing.

A large sob broke through me as I realized I didn't know how this was going to work out. It scared me that this one time, the time it meant most to me, I couldn't get anything.

"Is it bad? Oh, God. It is, isn't it?" Rose cried.

"No." I choked out, "I don't know, guys. I just don't know!"

I cried quietly while I waited for them to process that this one time I didn't know how things were going to work out. I almost never didn't know what was going to happen. And now, when they needed that comfort, I couldn't give it to them. I felt useless and empty inside and I hated that I let them down.

"I'm so sorry, guys." I breathed, as Rose pulled me into a tighter hug as she cried. The next moment, I felt Bella pull herself away from me and jump off the couch.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" She spoke quietly as she began to pace back and forth, the anger evident in her voice.

"It means I can't get anything. I don't know how its going to work out." I spoke quietly, waiting for her to lash out at me. I knew that Bella was hurting and that she usually used her anger to vent instead of crying.

"What do you mean you don't know!" She shrieked, turning on her heels to glare at me. "How can you not know! You _always_ know!"

"Bella, settle down. I can't just make it work, I can't get anything. I'm sorry." I spoke quietly, not wanting to provoke her anger.

"I swear if this is another one of your games, I will never forgive you! This isn't a game! This is our lives!" She hissed, pointing an accusing finger at me. I understood what she meant. I had a few times where I withheld information because I felt that was how it was suppose to work out. I had to tell them certain things so that the situation could work itself out.

"I'm not playing games! You think I'm over here crying because I know the answer to this? You think I would lie about something this big? I know how much this is going to affect us, I wouldn't do that to you Bella. You have to trust me. I don't know."

**BPOV**

I stood there glaring at Alice as I felt the anger course through me at full force. Though it would seem I was furious at her, in reality, I was angry at everything else – what I am, the accident that happened at Rose's shop, the fact that I was going to break Edward's heart and crush my own.

I used my anger as a sort of shield. I let the anger build in me so that it overshadowed the pain and sadness I felt inside. I didn't like to feel or let people see me at my most vulnerable. I never like for anyone to feel sorry for me, so I hid it by focusing on the anger.

In the end, I felt even worse about what I do to Alice and Rosalie which in turn made me even more angry, though that was directed at myself. Why couldn't I just deal with this like a normal person? Oh, I know. Because I'm not normal, nor have I ever been!

"I'm sorry, guys." I sighed, covering my face with my hands. What happen next was something I expected and knew would make me even more angry. \

"It's okay, Bella. We understand why you are angry, you're just upset." Alice said sweetly. I resisted the urge to growl at her. Though I had apologized, I still felt all the anger inside me and I hated it when they were so sympathetic. Sometimes I just wanted them to yell back at me, just so I could let some of this pent up anger out.

I took a my seat again, but kept my distance from Alice, not wanting any physical contact. I rested my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands and worked on my harsh breathing.

Frankly, I needed to work on this anger problem. But right now wasn't the time. I was such a mess inside, I couldn't even begin to work through my emotion.

"Can we get this over with?" I asked quietly as I stood up from my seat to look down at Rose and Alice.

Alice's head snapped up to me and I could see the pure panic in her eyes. "Now? We have to do it so soon?" She breathed, her bottom lip trembling.

"When else would you want to do it, Alice?" I snapped, rolling my eyes. "You really want to wait to break up with Jasper? You want to sit here and pawn over it?"

She cringed at my bluntness but nodded her head slightly and stood. Rose stayed quiet as she followed us towards her front door, still clutching to her pillow for dear life.

I sighed and turned to her, staring straight into her bloodshot eyes. I gently pulled the pillow from her arms, though it took a little work, the threw it back on the couch. When I looked back at her, the anguish that shown through her eyes cut right through me and I could no longer keep up my indifferent physique.

"Oh, Rose." I cried and pulled her into a tight hug. I felt Alice's little arms wrap around us from the side as she buried her face in between us.

And I cried and cried, trying to ease the build up of emotion inside of me so I could get through what I was about to do. I had to stay strong if I was going to see Edward for the last time. I couldn't let him see how much ending it between us would hurt me, or else he would never let me go.

So as I pulled away from our group hug and led them down the hall towards the elevator, I realized that I now took on a new perspective on what we are. I no longer saw it as a blessing. No, now it was a curse that I would loath from now until the day I die. No matter how much of a part of me it was.

* * *

A/N: So it was a short chapter, more of a filler... thanks for all the reviews, love you guys. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too gloomy. I hate angst...so I assure you this 'break up' will not last long _at all_.

Don't be hating on Bells, thats just her way of copeing with the pain. She doesn't like to seem vulnerable or show weakness, so she focuses on all the anger she feels towards various things and lets that control her. Make sense? If not, tell me! :P

Oh, and I made two banners for my story, they will be on my profile. Now I'm not all that good at photoshop...so don't be surprised if they totally suck, they didn't take a lot of work. And for all you Jasper lovers, I have one of him! Eeeee! So maybe check that out before you review? Or send me a PM! :)

So review and remember to be totally honest, I will take your thoughts and comments to heart and see if I can use 'em to improve!


	15. Chapter 14: Golden Eyes

* * *

Chapter 14

Thursday, October 29th, 7:30 a.m.

**BPOV**

For so long I have hated the fact that I can't remember my life before the age of fourteen. I had never once wished that I could forget a certain moment of the life I _do_ remember because I am so grateful for the memories I have now and are making as we speak.

Until now.

Every minute that I have spent lying here staring blankly up at the ceiling, I am haunted with the memory of Edward's face when I told him I didn't want him anymore. The pain and despair that I saw in those gorgeous green eyes, the small frown on his beautiful lips, the crease in his fore head from the worry and fear – it was imprinted in my mind as a permanent reminder of how much of an ass I am.

I could have prevented this. I could have saved him the heart ache. And when I recall all those times we said _'enjoy it while it last'_ I feel even worse. We all knew that someday something would happen that would separate us from our significant other, but we still went along with the motions. We still allowed the guys to get attached just so we could get a chance to love them.

I never wanted to hurt him, though even now after seeing how much pain I put him through, I can't bring myself to wish that I could go back in time and undo it all.

After every gentle kiss, loving caress, sweet spoken words and smiles, I couldn't wish to undo any of it. And that's what has me sad and confused. Which do I want more? To save Edward the pain or keep all the wonderful memories?

Well when I think of it that way, it would seem kind of selfish to choose the latter and that would just add to the list of my selfishness. God, why would Edward ever want someone like me? Someone who blatantly let him get attached to someone when they knew it would never work.

Then when I let my mind open up, I literally get this flashback of when Edward cringed away from me. I had yelled at him because unfortunately for him, I was still having that anger problem, though now I just feel like crap.

I had been rather harsh on my anger rant towards him. I had told many lies too, including the generic ones like 'I don't want to see you anymore' and 'I don't care about you'. But then when he kept pushing and pushing, I got even angrier and screamed at him 'You want to know the truth? It's actually because you are too clingy!'.

That one affected him the most and deep down I knew it would, which was why I had said it. He had voiced one time that he was concerned about being to clingy because he had never had a serious girlfriend. And I feel like a total jerk for using it against him. Now I know the full affect of my anger.

"Get up, Bells!" Alice said as she busted through the door of my bedroom. I could tell she was trying her best to sound as enthusiastic as she does every other morning, and honestly, she did rather well, if only I hadn't known her for so many years. I could hear how forced her chipper voice was and I could also hear the tightness in it, as if at any moment she could burst into tears again.

She jumped up on my bed and towered over me with her hands on her hips while I glared at her. I was over my anger fit from yesterday, but I just needed some time to wallow in my self loathing.

"Get up! I could practically hear you wallowing from my room. I could also hear your self loathing thoughts, full of stuff like _'I'm so selfish'_, _'We could have prevented this_', '_How could he ever want someone who would do this to him'_." As she started to quote things that had supposedly ran though my mind, she took on a nasally tone of voice, slumped her shoulders and began point her own finger at herself in an accusing manner.

I gaped up at her as she smiled smugly down at me. "How do you do that?" I gasped as I realized I had thought a similar version of every single thing she said. Am I really that predictable? If so, I am pretty pathetic.

"Oh, Bella, Bella, Bella. I know you too well. And I know that because you believe you are so predictable, you just thought _'I am pathetic._'" There she goes again with that nasally voice.

"Do I really sound that annoying?"

"The self loathing part, yes, but the tone of voice is off. I just felt like making you sound more annoying then you really are. Helped, right?"

I just rolled my eyes and pushed her off the bed. "So why exactly did you come in here other then to make fun of me?" I laughed as I stretched my wings.

"I have an idea to take our minds off the current dilemma." She said as she sifted through my closet. I smiled slightly, happy that she could still be Alice with a broken heart. I swear that little pixie is tougher then I am.

"You call last night a 'dilemma'?" I asked, slightly irritated by her not-so-strong term for the chaos of last night. It had been emotionally brutal, so I definitely wouldn't called it simply a 'dilemma'.

"I know, I know. Not a strong enough term. I just didn't want to be so blunt, you know?" She said, as she threw a pair of dark jeans and a plain black, long sleeve shirt on the bed. I smiled up at her, grateful that she didn't go all out on the outfit for once.

"So, where are we going?"

"You will find out sooner or later, just get ready and meet me at Rose's apartment. It might take a bit of convincing to get her up and going... I seriously would have thought she would be tougher then the both of us combined, but she really isn't doing that great." Alice sighed, then skipped lazily out of my apartment.

As soon as she told me Rose wasn't doing so great, I knew exactly why. Being as beautiful as she is, you're bound to want attention from people, especially the one you love. Though I don't mean that's the only reason she misses Emmett.

Rosalie had always had a tough time with the whole 'no contact/relationships' thing, though she never showed it. We all craved the attention and interaction, but Alice and I could tell she wanted it the most.

And now that she knows what its like to get attention from people – and even better, the one she loves – it is going to be hard for her to go back to having no one but us.

* * *

"A puppy?" I asked lamely, as I stared into the small pet shop.

"Yep!" Alice sang as she made her way past me towards the door. I just shook my head at her, not sure what I thought about her plan yet. Rose was quiet, so I knew she was still deciding too, though she had been quiet the whole walk here, just the occasional sniffle from her every now and then.

A puppy...what exactly did I think about having a dog? We had birds but they weren't really a pet_ pet_, if you know what I mean. So the only other option for a pet would be a cat or some type of rodent, like a hamster or mouse... Cats were a huge no, such evil little creatures. And a mouse? I don't think they would like the fact that their owners had wings, just like predators that would prey on them if they were in the wild.

I followed closely behind Alice, not wanting to venture too far, seeing as pet shops usually carried cats. Just thinking about them made my skin crawl. Rosalie seemed to have had the same idea since she was practically glued to my back, clutching the sides of my jacket.

"Will you guys chill!" Alice hissed as she turned to scowl at us. "Nothing is going to bite you! And Bella, I would really appreciate it if you would remove your nails from my skin." She said as she looked down at her arm. I followed her gaze and realized I was clutching her arm rather tight. I released my grip and laughed awkwardly, slightly embarrassed by my actions.

I tried to straighten myself out, but met some resistance when my jacket seemed to want to stay down.

"Rose!" I growled as I tried to shake her off her grip on my jacket.

"Oh!" She gasped from behind me, "Sorry."

I laughed as she removed her grip from my jacket. I straighten my jacket and fluffed my hair for show and mumbled a 'ready' to Alice who was giggling at me.

Alice stood stock straight, holding her head high, and continued her trek down the hall, then made a sharp turn left.

Rose and I rounded the corner with her and was met with the face of Lucifer himself up close and personal. A shiver ran up my spine as I watching every single pair of golden eyes turn to us. From anyone else's point of view, their wide, sparkling eyes would seem innocent enough, but I new better. And then I heard the worst sound imaginable...

"Meow."

All at the same time, we all let out blood curdling screams and jumped backwards away from the cages. In our haste to get away, we managed to catch the attention of every costumer in the store and knock down several displays of products.

We all scrambled down the hall and around the corner, then pressed ourself against the wrack of dog bowls as we tried to catch our breath.

"Holy crap!" Rosalie gasped, "Did you see that thing!?"

"Yes! It was horrible!" Alice cried, as she began to wave her hands in the air and stomp her feet. "Ew,ew,ew,ew!"

"Excuse me?" We heard a voice ask timidly from beside us. I turned to my right to see a short, pimply face teenage boy standing near the end of the isle. "Are you ladies okay?"

"Oh! Yeah, we are okay. Thanks." Alice spoke up.

"Is there something wrong? What happened?"

"Oh, it was nothing. We just accidentally ran into the cat section." Alice said, shrugging her shoulders like it was the most casual thing to say.

"Okay... well is there anything I can help you find?"

"Yes, actually, we were looking for a puppy."Alice squeaked, her tone of voice getting higher as her excitement grew.

"Okay, sure. Right this way." The boy said and made to turn and take us there, but Alice grabbed him by the arm before he could exit the isle.

"Could we take a detour or something? We don't want to run into the cats again." She said and shivered violently for affect.

I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing and buried my face in Rosalie's shoulder that was already shaking with silent laughter.

Eventually we made it to where they kept the dogs, which, unfortunately, was next to the cats section. The boy's name, who we learned was Sam, told us to not look to our left if we didn't want to see the cats. It was very sweet of him to warn us, but I really couldn't help but laugh at how funny the whole situation was, even if I could feel their beady little eyes on me as I walked by with my hand shielding my eyes from venturing left.

Once we made it safely inside the room that held the dogs, I sighed in relief and leaned against Rose who in turn slumped against me.

"That was nerve racking." She laughed.

"Tell me about it. I could practically feel their eyes on me. Ugh." I shivered.

After peering into every cage, we finally picked an adorable black and gray speckled Blue Heeler puppy. He had the cutest big brown eyes and had tons of energy. He was the first on our trek through the cages and Alice had already made her decision that he was 'the one' but Rose and I had suggested that we keep looking so that we were 100% sure. Truth was that we weren't so confident about her 'intuition' anymore. It had let us down on the one time we needed it the most...

An hour later and we were dragging the little monster down the street towards our apartments. And I mean literally dragging. He wasn't very old and hadn't been trained to walk on a leash and it was amusing to watch him thrash every now and then to try and shake off the collar.

Of course Alice went overboard on the accessories for him. Bowls – more then one I might add, "He needs one for breakfast, dinner and snacks...and water! Of course one for water!" She had said -, a bed, the queen size of course, brushes to keep his beautiful hair nice and tidy, treats to train him to do cute tricks, and of course the black studded collar to attract the 'bitches' as Rosalie had said.

"So what shall we name the little bugger?" Alice asked as she finally gave up on trying to get the dog to walk and picked him up, tucking him under her arm as he tried to lick her face.

We all hummed as we got lost in deep thought, occasionally glancing over at him to see if any ideas came to us. I giggled at the sight of his large paws hanging limply in the air, his long, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth and his head whipping around as he stared around us curiously.

"Emmett! We have to call him Emmett!" Rose said, laughing slightly. I frowned at the sight of her small smile that covered up the frown that tried to appear.

"Aw, Rose. That wouldn't be fair! I want to call him Jasper!" Alice whined.

"But guys, Edward is such a sophisticated name, it would be adorable for a dog!" I added in.

"Okay, okay! So we can't name him any of those names, because it wouldn't be fair. So lets think of something we all will like." Alice said, pouting slightly. "How about...Ed... jas...mett....Edasmett! Ha!"

"Edasmett? Seriously Alice?" I laughed, as I repeated the name a few times.

"That sounds like it has the word _ass_ in the middle of it." Rose piped in, trying to hold back her giggles.

"It does!" Alice giggled, "Ass mitt..."

We all laughed at this as we pressed the up button on the elevator. On the whole ride up, we played with names that had parts of the names Jasper, Emmett and Edward in it. We just wouldn't be satisfied if the name didn't have some type of connection to them.

Once the elevator landed on our level, we all made our way to our own apartments. Alice took the dog with her, and we all decided to get changed and meet back at the empty apartment across from Rose's. We had decided to give him a bath in the apartment we didn't use, just in case we made a mess.

As I pulled a plain black tank top over my head and let my wings break through the skin, I flipped open my phone to see that it was already 12 in the afternoon. I was suddenly glad Alice had dragged me out of bed this morning, or else I'd probably still be in bed wallowing and watching the minutes tick by in slow motion. The little pixie was a life saver...

* * *

"I got it, I got it!" Alice shrieked as she flew through the doors of the empty apartment, the little black and gray fur ball tucked securely under her arm. Rose and I jumped in surprise from where we sat on the floor outside the bathroom, not expecting her enthusiasm.

Alice beamed at us as she set him on the floor where he started sniffing the carpet frantically, then let out a high pitched shrill of a bark and began to run circles around the empty living room.

"Aww!" Alice cooed, "Don't you love him!? Look at how much energy he has!"

I rolled my eyes as she began to chase him around the room, giggling like a little kid. With her height and the way she was acting, no one would have guessed she was nineteen years old.

"Uhm, Alice?" Rosalie laughed, "Didn't you say you had something?"

Alice stopped chasing the dog and stared at us for a minute with a blank expression on her face, her mouth slightly agape, until realization hit her and she 'oohed'.

"Right, right! So how does this sound for a name." She said excitedly as she moved across the room to stare down at me and Rose. "Jemward!"

I grinned as I let the name roll off my tongue a few times. It had a part of the names of the three people we loved most and it was very unique, just like him... Not to mention my Edward had the most letters in that name...and the most recognizable part.

"We can call him Jem for short." Rose said, as she smile widely.

Alice shrieked and clapped her hands. "Its perfect!" She said then turned to Jem and peered down at him. "Come here Jemward, come here!" She said in a baby voice as she patted her knee.

Jem barked again, though this time it was an even higher pitch. We all groaned and slapped our hands over our ears to stop the ringing. He wasn't exactly a little dog, so why exactly was his bark so shrilly?

"Jeeze. I really hope he gets over that." Rose groaned as the stuck her finger in her ear and shook it. "I don't think my sensitive ears can take it."

"Thats so weird!" Alice giggled, "His bark is so... off key for his size! He's a freak among his own kind! Just like us!"

We all played around the empty living room for a bit, just chasing Jem around as he barked and growled playfully at us. I was surprised and very glad that he wasn't spooked by our wings. I could only imagine how intimidating they would be, especially since he was so little. But it seemed he didn't mind them at all. He even got excited when we spreed our wings out as we crouched down low, as if we were preparing to strike.

An hour later and we were all cramped inside the small bathroom, our wings giving us almost no room to move around. Jem was sitting in the small tub that was only about a foot and a half tall. He was covered head to toe in bubbles and would occasionally bark his trade mark high pitched bark and snap at the bubbles if they moved a way he didn't find right.

"No!" Alice whined as she tried to snatch a bottle of shampoo that Rose held in her hand. "Don't use that ugly, smelly shampoo! Use this! It's pink and smells like strawberries!"

"Alice why would I choose a different shampoo just because its pink and smells good, when I have a better one right here that helps with flees!?" Rose replied heatedly.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands from where I sat on top of the toilet. They had been arguing for longer then a small argument about shampoo should entail. Who knew that giving a dog a bath could be so difficult?

"Guys, why don't you just wa-" I started to say, but was cut off when I peered into the mountain of bubbles and didn't see a speck of gray or black inside it. Then my eyes traveled down the side of the tub, where a train of bubbles led from there all the way to the bathroom door.

"Jem!" We all cried as we fought to free ourself from the tiny bathroom. Lucky for me, I got out first and quickly followed the path of wet paw prints on the carpet and the occasional blob of bubbles. It led all the way to the front door of the apartment, which was wide open. I just barely caught sight of the tip of his tail before it disappeared from sight as he ran down the main hallway.

I dashed through the door as fast as I could, which was pretty fast with my added strength and a few pumps of my wings, and made a sharp right turn just to be stopped in my tracks at the sight before me.

"What th-" Alice muttered as Rose and her crashed into me from behind, not expecting me to have stopped so sudden. They resituated themselves and gasped loudly, and I knew that they too had finally gazed down the hall.

"Oh, shit." Rose breathed, taking the words right from my mouth. All I could do was stare wide eyed, mouth slightly agape, as a bright pair of green eyes bore into mind. Green eyes that belonged to the one person I cared about more then my own life.

Edward.

* * *

A/N: Ahh! Its a major cliffy, so don't hate me. (There is a picture of Jemward on my profile.)

So I have some...news... So you guys know how I was saying my sister is like my beta? She like reads them before I post them? Well...she is leaving Thursday to go to 'beach camp' in Florida...and she wont be back for a whole week! Why am I not going too? Wanna know the truth? I hate the beach...and I get freaked out by swimming with fish...weird, right? But anyways...so if I don't get the next chapter finished by Thursday...I might not be updating until she gets back! :|

BUUUT! I got a little bargain or whatever...if I get enough reviews...I just might concider posting a chapter without having her read it first! So...I could update while she's gone! So review, and if I get a ton, I'll maybe post one anyways. But it has to be a lot of reviews! Break the record of 19! haha...

P.S. The next chapter will have an Emmett POV! Eeee! I've already started writing it, but I gotta get into an Emmett kinda mood in order for it to be good, you know? So lets hope I can finish before Thursday! REVIEW! Please? For me? :)


	16. Chapter 15: Charm

A/N: I bet your glaring angrily at these words aren't you? You hate me, right? I hope not :( I'm sorry guys, I really wanted to update while she was gone, but there were so many little things I needed help with. And I only wanted to give you the very best. So please forgive me?

To make up for the long wait after the cliffy, I have a bargain, again! Last bargain I made worked sooo well! Almost 30 reviews! EEeeee! You guys made me sooo happy, you don't even realize. So I have the next chapter already written and its a longer one then this, so if you get 20 or less reviews, I'll post Saturday. If I get 21 or more, I update tomorrow. How does that sound? Is it too much to ask? I reaaally wanna make it to 200!

I would just like to say I don't absolutely love how the Emmett POV turned out. But thats because I still miss the old part that I lost :(. I tried to weave in all the 'ideas' that I remembered from it, and I'm not the best at easing into a random thought or idea, so if its choppy, I'm sorry!

Oh! And I learned of a way to use OpenOffice without actually using it! Hehe! I write on wordpad...then I use openoffice as my spell check! HA! Take that sucky openoffice, see how you like being used without actually being used! .... okay so that might not have made sense, but it does to me! So review when you read, sorry for any misspells and remember I accept any criticism! Be honest and help me be better! Love you guys, enjoy!

Chapter 15: Charm

**Emmett POV**

Confusion. Thats the main thing I feel right now. I feel as if there is this answer that's just screaming _'I'm here, dumb ass, right here in front of your face!'_. But I just can't get it...can't quite put my finger on it.

Anger. That's the other thing I feel. Anger at myself for not just getting it and anger at the situation that has seemed to put a gap between Rosie and me. Okay, so maybe its bigger then a gap and more like a big dam.

Oddly enough, I'm not as afraid as I think I should be - what with losing the love of your life and two little sisters. I think I'm not as scared of this separation because the confusion has taken over me. I feel as if there is something I'm missing. An answer that will bring us all back together.

Tuesday, after the ambulance had taken Frank to the hospital, I couldn't keep myself from gawking at Rose. I felt like if I stared her down, the answer would magically appear on her face. I mean what else was I to do when I had just watched my girlfriend lift a car up off of the ground with one hand?

Then, when she didn't ask me why I was staring or being so quiet, I got even more suspicious. It was as if she didn't have to ask. Like she already knew. And I knew for a fact anyone who knew me at all would ask why I was being quiet – I've never been the 'keep to myself' kind of guy.

So here I am, sitting in the living room of our apartment, staring off into space as I try and conjure up some type of explanation to all of this. Also I was silently chanting _'show me a sign, any sign', _which was getting me nowhere.

I have been sitting here for about an hour and so far I had made a list of all the strange, unexplainable things that have happened with Rose and her sisters.

1. Rose has amazing strength. Possible excuses: She's secretly a body builder.

2. Bella has amazing hearing. Possible excuses: She wears super high tech hearing aids?

3. Alice said something about Bella's wings. Possible excuses: She was talking about Bella's bird's wings – though that seems unlikely.

4. Rosalie is amazingly beautiful and sexy. Possible excuses: She's an angel! (Oh, the irony!)

Okay, so the last point isn't very legit, but I felt like it needed to be added. It seemed pretty important.

Now I am many things – like amazing, bad ass, hot, sexy – but stupid is not one of them. And if I use my very accurate logic, I would come to the conclusion that Bella, Rose and Alice are like us – bird people.

Now convincing hard headed Edward and level headed Jasper is going to be a pain in the ass. I would expect for one one of them to slap me up side the head – though I will expertly dodge it – and to maybe look at me as if I had grown an extra arm out of my head.

I sighed heavily, and pulled my phone my pocket, quickly sending a text to Edward and Jasper.

_To:Jasper;Edward_

_This is Batman, report back to the bat cave immediately!_

As I waited for them to respond, I let my imagination take over me. I imagine how it would be like if the girls were actually like us. It would effect all of our relationships, that was for sure. Though I would assume it would change for the better. Then an image of Rose with wings flashed through my mind, and I was off into a fantasy where Rose and I wer-

My fantasy was interrupted by the ringing of my phone, indicating that I had received a text. Surprisingly, neither Edward or Jasper argued with me and agreed to meet back at the apartment. I would have expected them to tell me to stop being so immature or something of that sort. Guess they weren't in the mood...

I could understand why they weren't in the mood to argue or bicker with me though, we all had been pretty crushed about this whole thing. From their reactions after the breakup, I knew that Jasper and Edward cared about Alice and Bella as much as I do Rose. Ha! I do Rose...

_Pshh! You wish! _A little voice in my head mocked and I quickly put it aside, not wanting to go _there_.

Anyways... Edward had instantly retreated back to his room, most likely to beat the crap out of himself about something he believe he did wrong. Jasper's reaction was a little more...scary. He had just plopped down on the sofa and stared blankly at the wall for hours. I had sat next to him, waiting for him to come out of it, but when he never did, I decided to just go to bed. The next morning I had found him in the same spot, though he had different clothes on. So it was a mystery to me whether or not he slept.

And me? Well...on the outside it would seem as if I was unaffected by the whole thing. But on the inside? I was scared shitless. Just the thought of never seeing Rose again scared me. Not getting to do the little thing - like pull a strand of her beautiful golden hair behind her ear, caress her rosy cheek, or even kiss her gorgeous lips.

After only a week of being with her, I couldn't see anyone else. All I could see was Rose. She was just so spunky, so loving, so _alive. _The happiest I had ever been was when I was near her, and I doubt I would ever be that happy without her.

My thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of the front door unlocking. A moment later and Edward and Jasper stepped through, both of them red faced and breathing heavy.

"Jeeze. What happened to you guys?" I laughed as they both fell limply onto the couch.

"We...took...the stairs." Jasper gasped as his head lolled off the side of the couch.

"What!?" I gawked, surprised by this. Yeah, we had the added agility, but twenty-four stories was pure suicide. "Why did you do that?"

"Because we are cowards." Edward sighed.

I frowned slightly, realization hitting me. I too would have to say it was a cowardly thing to do - although I could understand why they wouldn't want to run into the girls. They feared the girls would act cold towards us and that would make this even more painful.

Even I wasn't too sure I wouldn't do that same. Although Rose had made our separation sound pretty final, I couldn't bring myself to believe that it was the last time I would see her. I mean we live in the same building! We were bound to run into each other _sometime _– I'd have made sure of it.

But now that I think about it and feel all the desperation inside of me from wanting to just be near her, I knew it wouldn't be such a great idea. If I did see her again, I'd most likely drop on my hands and knees and beg for her to take me back. Or I would jump her – especially with the images I have running through my mind of Rose with wings while wearing white lingerie like a Victoria Secret model.

"So what was it you wanted?" Jasper asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Well..." I hesitated, not sure how to go about doing this. The only way I could think to do it was to just say it straight up and that would be very surprising and maybe not the best approach to this. But what the hell?! When did I ever care about being blunt? "I think that the girls are like us – bird people."

There, I said it. Just put it right out there. No beating around the bush. No pussy footing around. We are men, we can handle the straight forward truth, right?

I fought hard to keep the grin off of my face so that they would see how serious I was. I knew that if they saw me grinning they would interpret it the wrong way. They would assume I was smiling because I was playing a joke on them, when in reality, it would be because I was giddy about the idea I was so sure was true.

Then I heard it – laughter. They were blatantly laughing in my face. Any other time I wouldn't be offended because I like to make people laugh, but now it was like a slap to the face.

_At least you didn't get slapped _a voice reminded me, causing my anger to simmer down a notch.

The voice had a good point - I always hated it when they hit me, not that it hurt, it was just annoying - but this was serious, I needed them to trust me just this once.

After seeing my angry glare, both of their laughter died immediately and they looked at me with confused expressions - as if they expected me to laugh along with them.

"You're serious?" Jasper asked.

"Completely. Just think about it. They like heights, Bella could hear Alice whisper from across the table, Rose lifting the car up off the ground – it all fits. Not to mention that they all found a reason to break up with us after the accident at Rose's shop. They must be scared that someone will find out what they are. What other explanation could there be?"

"Emmett, as much as I would like to believe you, its just not likely. What are the odds that there are others like us and they just happen to be three beautiful women who live right above us?" Edward said as Jasper nodded beside him gravely.

I opened my mouth to continue our argument, but shut it quickly, deciding it was useless. It did seem like such a far fetch idea. I knew that there was no way I could convince them.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." I said, slapping my knee and jumped up from the couch, heading for the front door.

"What?" Jasper asked as both him and Edward followed behind me. I ignored his question and grabbed the box of video games I got in the mail.

"What are we doing?" Edward asked as I made my way down the hall towards the elevators.

"Well... there's only one way to find out if I'm right - which I already know I am. I just need to prove it to you both." I grinned as I pressed the lobby button.

**EPOV**

Five minutes later and we were standing outside the doors of the main office, waiting for Emmett to decide when he wanted to actually enter. I tried rather hard to keep from laughing when I saw the pure concentration on his face, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, as if he was trying to open the door with his mind.

Finally, after the second grunt from Emmett, either out of concentration or effort, I wouldn't know, Jasper spoke up.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing? The door wont actually open until you touch it." He said seriously, but I caught the corner of his mouth twitch as he tried to keep from smiling.

Emmett sighed, his shoulders slumping, and turned to us. "I know, you idiots. I was thinking of a way I was going to do this. And I think I got it. So lets go, ladies." He said, then slowly pushed open the door.

There sitting at the desk was an elderly lady with long white hair that was pulled back into a neat pony tail. She wore purple reading glasses that were perched on he tip of her nose as she looked down at something on her desk. When she heard us enter, she lifted her head and smiled widely at us.

"Well hello." She greeted us in a sweet voice as she pulled off her glasses.

I smiled as genuinely as I could, it coming out a little forced though with the constant pain I felt ever since last night. I wanted to appear normal, if not happy - especially to this woman. Bella had told us about her and, frankly, I felt a deep gratitude towards her. Ms. Dwyer had been gracious to the girls in giving them the whole top floor to themselves without any question and because of that I got the opportunity to meet Bella. And for that I would always be grateful.

Ever since Bella had broke it off with me last night, I had tried many ways of keeping myself from showing how utterly lost I felt without her. Ultimately, telling myself that I was lucky to have had any time with her at all did the trick. I constantly remembered back to all the happy times I had with her, and made myself feel grateful for that time.

I knew that I would never see any other woman like I saw Bella. None of them could hold a candle to her beauty - the beauty that she held inside and out. And I would never love anyone like I loved her. It was crazy for me to have fallen for her so quickly, but that alone was proof enough that what we shared was special - in conclusion being another thing I should be grateful for.

"Howdy." Emmett said, his voice taking on a country accent as he playfully tipping an invisible hat.

I tried to control my laughter as he set the box down on the floor next to a chair that sat in front of the desk, and hiked up his pants as he plopped down on the chair. He was turning on his 'charm', that was for sure. It wasn't the typical kind, like he would use on Rose or any other woman - though he hasn't used it on a woman after he met Rose - that was a flirtatious charm. The charm he was using now was one he used on older people, it was the kind that showed his youth and playfulness that always made them laugh.

"What can I do for you boys?" Ms. Dwyer asked, as she rested her chin in her hands and grinned at us.

"Well... I guess I'll just cut right to the chase...You know the three lovely ladies that live on the twenty-fifth floor, right?"

"Well, of course! How could you forget such beautiful, caring young ladies?" She said with pure adoration in her voice. I understood immediately, that she too was no match for the Hale sister's charm. Alice, Bella and Rose were hard to _not_ like. They were all so full of life, so playful and loving. How could anyone not love them?

I felt my heart ache at the thoughts that caused me to remember that I would not be seeing them as often anymore - for the exception of this one crazy idea that Emmett had up his sleeve to get us into the girls' apartment. Frankly, I didn't know why I wasn't opposing to his ideas. Was I desperate enough to see Bella that I would allow my brother to somehow get us into their apartment uninvited? Obviously...

"Well, you see. I'm Rosie's boyfriend and Jasper there-" he pointed a finger over at Jasper, where he stood off to the side shyly, "is Alice's and Eddie -" He pointed a thumb over his shoulder since I stood behind the chair he sat in,"is Bella's. And we-"

He was cut off by Ms. Dwyer, who 'awwed' adoringly. "I'm so glad those girls have finally found some good men! I was beginning to think they were lesbians...You know they have lived up there for a little over a year and hadn't made one real friend. I think anyone who cares about them even an ounce would get worried. I mean they are such lovely girls, why would they not want to or be able to make friends?"

Emmett turned to Jasper and me, raising an eyebrow and nodding his head suggestively, as if saying _'See, another reason to add to my list'._

I rolled my eyes at him. I could see that all of his 'reasons' were pretty substantial. They all seemed to fit with his idea that the girls were 'bird people' as Emmett had put it. When I really thought over it, I was amazed at how confused I became over the matter. I was divided three ways, three different sides of me battling against each other. There was the side that told me it was just wishful thinking; the side that told me I was an idiot to even consider it; and the other that told me to look at the facts - that they all seemed to fit and that I was blind to not have thought of it myself.

So which do I choose? Do I totally deny it and save myself the huge let down if I got my hopes up for nothing. I mean a guy can only go through so many disappointments before he can't take it anymore.

Or do I stop being a coward, suck it up, and go with what the logical side of my mind tells me is right? I had already lost the one thing I didn't think I could live without, what was one more disappointment?

"Yeah, we are just glad they accepted us." Emmett said sullenly, as he ducked his head and started twiddling his thumbs. He sighed heavily and looked back up, continuing. "Well, we wanted to do something special for them," He patted the box that sat at his feet, "and we wanted it to be a surprise, so we were wondering if you could help us out and maybe let us borrow a key to get into their apartment?"

_Nice, very nice Emmet_, I thought to myself as I grinned, proud of my goof ball of a brother.

"Aww..." Ms. Dwyer cooed, "What's the occasion?"

"Do we really need an occasion to pamper our girlfriends?" Emmett replied coyly, and I had the urge to pat him on the back for his efforts.

Ms. Dwyer sighed in adoration, and nodded her head in approval as she rummaged through her desk drawer. A moment later, she pulled out a key and dangled it from her finger. "Now don't make me regret doing this." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly, "I don't want to hear the girls coming to me telling me you guys played a practical joke on them or something, you hear? If I get one complaint from them, there will be consequences."

I winced as the thought of her kicking us out of the building crossed my mind. Then I really wouldn't get to see my Bella anymore. Even if all I had to go on was the hope that I would run into her while riding the elevator, I couldn't even begin to consider leaving. It was torture to know that I would only see Bella by chance, but not seeing her all together was even worse.

Emmett gasped dramatically as he placed a hand over his chest. "We would do no such thing." He breathed, sounding as if he was totally appalled by the idea.

Ms. Dwyer narrowed her eyes and I now felt the urge to slap Emmett. He was doing really well up to that point. It wasn't the best idea to react that way, frankly it sounded as if that was exactly what he intended to do.

"Don't mind him." I spoked up, smiling at her, "I wouldn't let him do anything stupid."

She smiled in relief and dropped the key into my hand. We thanked her profusely - Emmett actually attempting to hug and kiss her, but she had pushed him away - and headed towards the elevator.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly as my nerves began to go haywire. I was finally realizing what we were about to do and I silently cursed myself for being so slow to realize it.

My mind quickly ran through the various scenario's some good, some great, and some completely horrifying. The good ones ended in us making up, preferable after finding out that the girls were, indeed, like us. The bad usually ended in us getting screamed at and eventually kicked from the building for tricking innocent Ms. Dwyer.

"Guys, chill!" Emmett sighed as he grabbed the key from my hand and stuck it into the slot on the elevator door. "Everything will be just dandy. No worries mate, I know what I'm doing."

"When do you ever know what your doing." Jasper sighed quietly as he let his head drop back as he stared at the ceiling.

"Psshh, are you kidding? When have I _not_ known what I'm doing." Emmett said dismissively as the elevator seemed to move extremely fast to the twenty-fifth floor.

Eventually the doors dinged to level twenty-five and slowly opened. The elevator was tense as we all held our breath, anticipating what was to come.

I was surprised and slightly relieved that I wasn't met with anything drastic. I wouldn't think my nerves could take it; I had been on the edge all day.

I stepped out of the elevator and into the main hallway of the apartment. It looked completely normal - no guns lying around, no old mafia looking people, no nothing. It looked exactly like our floor did.

We all stood in a line in the hallway, none of us bothering to go any further. I focused slightly and tried to see if I could hear anything - wondering if they were even home. _God, I hope they are out..._

Then I heard something - faint, rhythmic thumps that seemed to get louder. As I focused harder, the sound became clear to me right before a little black and gray ball of fur came jumping from an apartment halfway down the hall.

I instantly grinned as the puppy shook out his fur slightly and caught sight of us. He crouched down playfully and began to growl lightly under his breathe as he slowly came towards us.

"Oh, look, Emmett. Their illegal dog breeders too." Jasper whispered sarcastically.

Emmett growled angrily, and sucked in a breath to reply but was cut off as three more pairs of footsteps sounded, right before three figures jumped out of the same door at an alarming speed.

This time, there was no doubting what I saw. I could not blame this on wishful thinking, or convince myself that I was going crazy. The fact that I could hear Emmett and Jasper gasp in surprise was proof that they too saw what I saw, convincing me that it wasn't an allusion. And my God, I was glad that it wasn't.

Emmett was right. My crazy, half witted brother was right.

My eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of my head as my eyes trailed from the gorgeous white feathers and down to the familiar chocolate brown eyes that I had fallen in love with.

My Bella was a true angel.

* * *

20 or less = Update Saturday.

21 or more = Update tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 16: Chaos

**A/N: You guys are amazing. 211 total reviews! Eeee! So just like I promised, here it is. I hope you like it, because I worry that it might suck...Hope not. I'm sure you want to get to reading, so just don't forget to read my AN at the end...**

Thursay, October 29th, 12:35 p.m.

Chapter 16: Chaos

My mind was total chaos as I stared back at Edward. There were tons of questions, scenarios -good and bad-, fears, hopes, all running through my mind all at once. Also, somewhere in the mess that was my brain, I wondered if he could see the war that was going on inside of me.

First there were the million questions that seemed to be aimed at me, Edward or God himself. What was he doing here? How did he get in our apartment? What did he think of what he saw? Could we convince him it was all an illusion?

_"Edward..." I said in a ominous voice as I waved my hands in the air. "What you see isn't real. It's all an illusion...an illusion!"_

Yeah, right. That couldn't work - what with his two brothers standing next to him seeing the same thing he was.

Then there were the various scenarios that ran through my mind. Some being happy and ending with us all frolicking through a field of flowers; the other of us trying to convince the guys that they didn't see anything and end with them running off with the plan to tell everyone in the world about the three bird people.

Then I had these two voices arguing heatedly on whether or not I should put my wings away.

_Put them away, you idiot! You could totally play this off!_ One voice said.

_Ha! You bloody idiot! How do you play off massive bird wings that just happen to disappear out of thin air? _The other argued with a British accent. Why it had an accent was not clear to me. Guess that's what happens when my thoughts get so out of hand...

"Oh, God. We don't have to kill them, do we?" Alice breathed beside me, her voice barely audible even to me. She was shaking violently - probably from fear and anticipation of what their reaction would be - as she clutched her hands to her chest.

I growled under my breath at the thought and shook my head frantically at her. "No! Are you crazy!" I hissed quietly, my lips barely moving.

As I said this, Edward's eyes sparked with something unknown to me and he grinned wildly at me.

_Wait, what? Why is he smiling? Oh God, he's already thinking about the amount of money he will make in being the one to discover bird people! _

All the air in my lungs came rushing out as I began to panic. I was about to close my eyes and attempt to get my nerves under control, but was stopped by the sight of Edward, Jasper and Emmett who seemed to be having a silent conversation between themselves.

They looked from each other, all three of them grinning like idiots and I could practically hear their thoughts -_ 'We are going to be rich!' _After a few moments, when they had all come to some silent agreement, they all reached for the hem of their shirt and began to pull them up.

"Woah, woah!" Alice gaped as she held her hands up, shaking them around frantically. "Okay, guys...I can see how this might... turn you on but- Okay so I can't see how that would but you-"

She was cut off by Jasper who was smiling adoringly at her. "Alice!" He called to her. She 'huh'ed dazily and he continued, still pulling his shirt up. "Hush!"

Eventually, they all had their shirts off and I didn't even try to stop myself from gawking at them - especially Edward. Before I could get my thoughts together to ask them what they were doing, there was a faint tearing noise and then a flash of black, gray and brown.

All three of us gasped loudly as we all stared open mouthed at them.

A pair of wings were now placed behind every single one of them. Emmett stood on the far left, his shoulders squared, wearing a cocky grin as he stretched out his large black wings a little. Jasper looked a little more shy, and unsure, which didn't surprise me. His wings were a light brown and were slightly tucked behind him, barely showing over his broad shoulders. And Edward stood between them both, smiling at me as I took in the view of his beautiful gray wings.

Alice as usual, didn't give Rose or me any time to take this all in before she spoke up - or _screamed_ would be a more appropriate term.

"Ahhh!" She shrieked loudly as she began to stop her feet excitedly. All five of us jumped in surprise, not expecting it, and clamped our hands over our ears. I got the full blunt of it since she stood next to me, so I flinched rather violently, my balance faltering slightly as I jumped away from her.

After that it got very quiet as we all just stood there, staring at each other in amazement. Jasper spoke Alice's name softly as he took a step closer. Emmett too began to make his way over to Rose.

I turned to Edward to see that he hadn't moved and I felt the guilt wash over me. My eyes shut sullenly and I dropped my head in shame. Not even after this big revelation would he still want me. Not after all the ugly things I had said to him. I guess I deserved it though. Frankly, I deserved worse then him simply not come to me.

I felt a tear escape the corner of my eye as I heard the faint murmurs of my friends around me as they spoke quietly to their significant other. I already felt cold and empty knowing that everyone would have their happy ending but me.

Just then I felt two warm hands gently grasp each side of my face and I didn't have to look up to know who's hands they were. My body was already so attuned to him.

Edward pulled my tear stained face up and stared down at me with so much more love then I deserved. He murmured my name softly, his lips barely moving as his eyes raked over every inch of my face.

At that moment, I had never felt more adored or loved in my entire life. Never in my life had I felt this elated to have him simply look at me. Never had I even had someone look at me so adoringly, as if I was the most precious thing to them. My heart swelled to immeasurable fullness and I knew that I could never go without his touch or love ever again.

Happy tears came then as his thumb gently traced the bottom of my lip and into the dip between my lip and chin. I closed my eyes and let myself relax into his gentle, loving touch as he pulled my face closer. With my eyes still closed, I felt his breath on my lips and I gasped in surprise, my mouth opening slightly.

He took that chance to dive in and capture my lips, his bottom lip making its way between my slightly agape mouth. I whimpered, wanting to feel him closer to me, having missed his touch for the past few days. He moaned slightly as I tangled both my hands into his hair and he moved one of his hands to the small of my back, pulling me closer.

After a few moments - we didn't even bother to part for breath, just gasping against each other's lips occasionally - our gentle kiss turned more playful and eventually we were laughing and nipping at each other.

"I love you." I breathed quickly right before I bit his bottom lip playfully. I instantly froze, realizing what I had just said. It had just slipped out - what with the pure happiness I was feeling. I knew that I loved him, but I was amazed at how easy it was to say.

I pulled away slightly, biting my lip as I hastily met his eyes. I didn't know how I had expected him to react, but it wasn't what I saw - especially what I saw in his vibrant green eyes. To put it simply, he looked ecstatic, overjoyed, and many other big happy adjectives. I had never seen him look so alive, like those three words that I spoke had awoken him to a whole new wave of happiness that he had never felt before.

I opened my mouth to beg him to say something, but was cut off as he pulled me even tighter to him - unfortunately cutting off my air supply - and crashing his lips to mine. He giggled - yes, Edward actually giggled - and spun me around. He then pulled away and began to pepper light kisses to ever inch of my face.

"I love you!" He said in between kisses and stopped lastly at my lip, prying them open to deepen the kiss.

I giggled, but with the tight hold he had on me, it came out sounding more like I was choking to death. "I can't breathe, Edward." I squeaked when he pulled away slightly.

"Oh! Oh, God. Bella, I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?" Edward cried as he released me and set me back on my feet. He then took a step back and began to look me over, as if looking for any broken bones.

I giggled and grabbed his hands, pulling them away from where they rested on my shoulders. "I'm okay, I'm not that fragile." I said, and brought his hands to my chest and rested my chin on them as I smiled up at him.

He sighed loudly, his face flooding with relief, as he untangled my hands from his and placed them on either side of my face. "Thats right. You aren't fragile at all..." He growled playfully, as he pulled me closer for another kiss.

I giggled uncontrollably as he kissed and nipped at my lips and neck. I liked this side of Edward. The side that shown through when he was too happy to contain it. Obviously finding out that I was like him had turned him on, the fact that his lips wouldn't part from my skin being proof.

"I have so many questions." Edward breathed against my jaw as he trailed kisses from my lips to my ear. "But I just can't seem to stop."

I giggled as he held me tighter and began to nip at my skin as he growled playfully. The sound of him growling in my ear reminded me of something...Jemward!

"Jemward!" I gasped and Edward's lips stilled right below my ear.

"Should I be worried that you're saying someone else's name while I'm practically devouring your skin?" Edward chuckled and pulled away.

"No! Oh, no no no!" I laughed as I tried to peer around him, but was just met with a wall of gray feathers. I couldn't control it, I giggled _again_. It was just so crazy - the thought of Edward being like me. It was so unbelievable. Frankly, it left me speechless and unable to form a coherent thought over the matter. It was such a big revelation, where could I possibly begin?

"What are you giggling about?" Edward laughed as he looked over his shoulder.

"This." I smiled, gently patting his wings. "It's just crazy. I never would have guessed..." I trailed off as I got lost in thought.

Edward snapped his fingers in front of my face and chuckled. "What were you saying a minute ago? If I remember correctly, you rudely interrupted my trek across the land of Bella by saying someone else's name..."

"Oh! That's right. It's not a person, so you have no need to be worried." I grinned as I patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's our puppy." And with that I grabbed his waist to push him aside, but gasped and pulled away when my hands met bare skin.

_Oh, that's right. How could I forget Edward wasn't wearing a shirt? Silly me! _

I clasped a hand over my mouth and giggled like a little girl that had never seen a perfectly sculpted set of abs so close before.

_Damn, I was a little girl and this was the first time!_

"Enjoying yourself?" Edward laughed as he pulled my hands away from my mouth.

"Mhmm." I hummed, nodding my head frantically.

"Well that's good. I wouldn't want my real-live angel disappointed, now would I?" He grinned and pulled my hands to his chest. My heart felt as it if it was about to burst out of my chest at the contact with his bare chest and now that I knew he was like me, I knew he could hear it - that and the fact that his mischievous grin had turned ridiculously cocky.

"You would never disappoint me." I said truthfully as I stepped forward, placing my body flush against his.

My mind took that moment to jump randomly back to the Jemward situation - one that I was getting rather annoyed with because all I wanted to do was stay here in Edward's arms. I didn't want to miss any of this overjoyed, playful side of Edward. Although I didn't think it was going to go away any time soon - what with the new information we had acquired about each other and the fact that we were back together.

"I keep getting off track!" I laughed and ripped my hands from his grasp, shocking him with the amount of strength I used. "You keep distracting me!"

He pouted and for a moment I couldn't help but admire how adorable and completely gorgeous he looked when he did so. The only other person I had ever seen pout like that was Alice - and trust me, never was her pouts adorable, mostly because when she did pout I was annoyed for a reason that could only be caused by Alice herself.

After I stared him down with a fake glare, he stopped his pouting with a huff and pulled his wings in and I didn't even give my thoughts a chance to pawn over how amazing it was to see or else I would get off track..._again._

I followed suit and did the same, ignoring the the adorably cheeky grin that appeared on Edward's face, and walked past him in search of Jemward.

I peered down the hall but didn't see him or wet paw prints in the carpet. I turned back around and only then did I remember that Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rose were here. It seemed that Edward and I were so off into our little world that we had forgotten about everyone else. And seeing all the lovey dovey eyes and the sweet embraces between them, I knew they had forgotten about everything too.

I shook my head in disbelief but grinned all the same - happy for my two favorite sisters. _My only two sisters. _

I walked past Edward continue my search, but was stopped after I took one step past him when I felt his gentle fingers trace the cuts on my upper back where my wings had made their way back under the skin.

I shivered, immediately stopping and turning to him. He was frowning with his hands still stretched out towards me.

"You're bleeding." He breathed quietly, his eyebrows scrunched in worry.

I couldn't help the loud sigh and eye roll that came. He was being his overprotective self about something that he couldn't control. All of us bled after our wings broke the skin - it was natural, seeing as the skin would heal like any other wound. Though after having taken them out so many times over the years, I could barely feel it anymore. I was used to it, frankly, and I found it rather absurd that he would find it such a big deal.

"Edward, don't be ridiculous." I sighed, shaking my head. "It's normal! You bleed too! I barely even notice it anymore!"

"I know that I'm being absurd," He sighed and pulled me into a hug, resting his head on my shoulder. I shivered again as my hands wound around his bare torso. I don't think I would ever get used to this... "but I just don't like seeing you hurt or in pain." He breathed the last part as his finger lightly touched the cuts on my back again.

"Well you're going to have to get used to it." I said, pulling away so that I could go back to looking for Jemward. It had been so long - what with being distracted numerous times either by Edward touching me or my simply looking at him - I wouldn't be surprised if we never found him again. He could be in any apartment now since we left all of the doors open - we didn't really have to close them because no one could get up here without a key for the elevator entrance - and there were four apartments on each side of the hall.

"I'm glad." Edward said, his smile turning from gloomy to elated instantly.

"Why are you glad?"

"Because I will have time to get used to it... and trust me, _that_ is going to take a while to get used to."

I smiled, liking the idea of him being around for a while or even... maybe...forever?

I turned back around in the direction I was heading before I was so pleasantly interrupted, and began to call Jem as Edward followed close behind me.

"Jem! Jemward!" I called as I whistled. I heard a loud chuckle from behind me and whirled around to glare at Edward.

"And what is so funny?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"What did you call him?"

"Uhm, Jemw-" I stopped before I could get the whole name out as I began to blush violently. I necessarily hadn't picked the name, but I certainly didn't oppose to it. Though now that I think of it I should have... I never thought about how embarrassing it would be to have to explain to the guys the meaning of Jem's name. Then again, at the time, I had thought our relationships were pretty much over.

"Nothing!" I said quickly and spun back around quickly, resuming my trek down the hall. This time I didn't use Jem's full name.

"Oh, no you don't!" Edward laughed and jumped in front of me, blocking my way. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to him rather tight, and I knew right away there was no getting out of his grasp or escaping the embarrassment that was sure to come when I told him what he wanted to hear.

"Tell me." He demanded.

"No!" I said shortly and began to push on his shoulders with all my strength. It was no use though, and I was slightly deterred at how strange it was for me to be weaker then anyone other then Rosalie or Alice.

He growled and repositioned himself so that he held me with his left arm, leaving his right free to grasp my chin and turn my head to him. "Tell me!" He chucked as I tried to fight him, shaking my head from side to side to get his hand away - though it got me no where and even made his grip slightly painful.

Then he cheated - he poked out his bottom lip, his eyes growing wide and innocent, as he began to sniff back fake tears. The sight made my breath hitch for a moment and my heart skip, and I knew I was a goner.

"Fine!" I huffed, "But just know that if I die, it will be all your fault!"

"And what would you die from?" Edward asked, amused by my very dramatic statement.

"Embarrassment!"I groaned again as I thought about what I was going to say and in a last desperate attempt, tried to free myself from his grip.

"Don't even bother, Bella." Edward said, tightening his grip even more. "You may be stronger then the average human, but I am still stronger than you..."

"Thank you captain obvious..." I mumbled under my breath as my head slumped in defeat into his hand.

He chucked and urged me to continue. I figured the best way was to go the band aid way - just rip it off quickly and get the pain over with.

"Jemward!" I said loud enough so he could hear but not too loud. I was dead set on not repeating it, no matter if he really didn't hear me or he gave me the pout again.

I waited, my eyes clamped shut, for him to do something - like laugh hysterically and call me a psycho or let me go immediately and run away. A few moments past and I heard nothing and his grip never lessened or tightened.

I finally went against my better judgment opened my eyes, just to be met with amused bright green eyes. _Well at least he doesn't look repulsed... _I thought quietly to myself.

He surprised me again by swiftly swooping down and capturing my lips for the millionth time in the past ten minutes. I sighed in relief and returned it, just enjoying the sweet and tender way his lips caressed mine.

And I was enjoying it a lot - that was until he began to laugh into my mouth. I huffed in anger and pulled my face away from his. His grip loosened slightly and I took the chance to rip myself from his grasp and push him away.

He continued to laugh as I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm sorry....Its just ...so...so" He said in between laughs, every one sending me deeper and deeper into mortification. I was livid, for a few reasons that were unknown to me as of yet, and I felt the angry tears begin to form in my eyes.

"It's so weird...but so..." He said, as he clutched his stomach, his eyes clamped shut. He finally opened them and the laughter stopped so quickly I would have laughed if it wasn't for all the anger inside of me.

"Oh, Bella... Don't cry!" Edward breathed as he took a few steps towards me.

I shook my head and took a few steps back. "Is it so funny that we named our dog after the three most important men in our lives? Huh? Is it funny that we wanted something to remind us of y'all when we thought we would never see you guys again!" I said loudly as I felt the presence of four figures behind me.

"Whats going on?" I heard Alice asked quietly from my left as she came into view.

"Edward thinks it's freaking hilarious that we names our dog Jemward!" I huffed as I looked to Rosalie who came from behind me on my right side.

Rose and Alice's mouths opened wide in shock as they turned to Edward who looked slightly shocked and confused.

"No, I jus-" He tried to say but was cut off by Emmett's loud laughter.

"And what the hell are you laughing at?" Rosalie growled at Emmett as he fell over, bracing himself against his knee while his whole body shook with laughter.

"Je...Je-Jemward!" He stuttered out in between laughs, occasionally slapping his knee.

Alice pouted beside me, this time not an annoyed pout, but one of embarrassment and hurt. She ducked her head as her gray wings slumped behind her and I became even angrier at the boys for laughing. No one ever has the right to make perky little Alice feel embarrassed or upset. Only I can do that!

I growled and took a threatening step towards Emmett. His laughter didn't stop altogether, just quieted a little as he looked up at me with a cheeky grin. I didn't give him any warning before I pulled back my fist and punched him as hard as I could in his arm. I heard the distinct snap and grinned at myself as he screamed out in pain, falling to the ground as he clutched his arm. He then proceeded to scream a various amount of profanities - some I believe he had even made up.

I couldn't help the satisfaction I felt in being able to do that. I loved Emmett and under any other circumstances I wouldn't have done what I did, but he was like us - he would heal in a few hours.

"Alice thought of that name for a very good reason - you upset her!" I yelled at him as I uncurled my fist. I winced as I met some resistance, realizing that I had broken a few fingers.

Rosalie stood next to me, staring down at Emmett who was huffing in pain, and I could tell she was stuck between wanting to help him or hit him herself. It was tough to be stuck between the love of your life and your sister.

"Rosie!" Emmett squeaked, and I could tell that he was already over most of the pain, now only pretending to be in pain to get a reaction from Rose.

"You'll be fine, Emmett." She laughed as she took a step back when he tried to crawl closer to her.

"It burns!" He squeaked again, this time an even higher pitch. I was surprised that someone that large and muscular as Emmett could even make a noise that high. Hell, I didn't even know if _I_ could achieve that.

I turned to see Jasper comforting Alice and smiled when I heard him say something along the lines of 'I thought it was sweet'.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side again." Edward chuckled from close beside me, his mouth only inches away from my ear. I jumped in surprise, not expecting him to be so close.

I turned to look at him, and glared, still pretty angry at him for laughing at me. "Don't even-" I started to say as I lifted my right hand to point an accusing finger at him, but ended up gasping in pain as I felt the broken bones in my hand.

Edward went into 'Edward' mode and instantly took my hand, cradling it gently in his as he examined it. I sighed, letting my head fall back as I promptly ignored all the things he said about being more careful or worrying him too much.

"Are you even listening?" Edward asked a few moments later, annoyance and amusement fighting for the lead in his voice.

I chuckled and let my head fall back down. "Nope." I said popping the 'p'.

He growled in frustration, his eyes darkening, and for a moment, I thought he was actually angry at me. That is until he grabbed me by the waist - careful to not hurt my hand - and pulled me to him roughly, then proceeded to tickle my sides and bury his face in the crook of my neck.

I shriek and tried to pull away but just like earlier - it was useless.

"Say you're sorry!" Edward demanded.

"No!" I cried as I continued to wiggle in his grasp. I was not going to give in _again _to his tricky ways so I did the only thing I knew that could work - I faked my being in pain. It was cruel, I know, but it was cruel of him to trick me into telling him Jem's full name.

"Ow!" I cried, my voice shaking slightly as if in pain. It's sad to say that I was proud of myself for sounding so believable. I had experience and used this tactic on Rosalie and Alice a lot - though after about a dozen times they had learned the difference between my real cry of pain and my fake one.

Edward gasped and instantly released me and before he could reach for my injured hand, I screeched 'Ha!' and took off down the hall.

I heard him growl from behind me and then his heavy foot steps as he took off after me. I followed the little paw prints in the carpet to the apartment at the very end on the left and quickly flew through the door and shut it behind me. I locked it a second before I hear a body crash into it and laughed when I heard Edward grunt as he made contact with the closed door.

"Bellaaaa." Edward whined from the other side of the door. As much as I wanted to see his adorable pout, I ignored him and made my way farther into the apartment.

I 'awwed' quietly to myself as I finally reached the empty living room and saw Jem sleeping curled up in the corner, his head resting on his still damp paws. My adoring smile faltered though when I saw him shiver and I immediately felt guilty. The poor guy was freezing to death while I was too busy with Edward.

"Jemmy!" I cried and crawled over to him just as he lifted his head. His face instantly brightened when he saw me and he jumped up and ran the rest of the distance to me. His shrilly bark sounded through the air, causing me to cringe, right before he jumped at me, one paw landing on each side of my shoulder.

I shriek in surprise as he began to nip at my face and I fell back bringing him with me. This time I really did cried out in pain as his little body hit my broken hand. I sucked in a sharp breath and gentle pushed him away with my good hand so that he stood beside me.

"Bella!" Edward growled from outside, having heard my cry of pain. "If you don't open this door I will knock it down."

"No you wont!" I growled as I got to my feet, clutching my hand to my chest.

"Lets go, Jem." I said quietly as I patted my thigh and made my way to the door. Even though I was in pain and slightly annoyed by Edward's over protectiveness, I couldn't help the grin that formed on my face as my mind had the time to run over the event that occurred in the past half our. I was looking forward to getting all my questions answered and finding out new things about Edward, Jasper and Emmett that I didn't know before.

This was going to be a very long and exciting day.

* * *

So? Totally suck? Totally awesome?

I believe I said the word 'giggle' too much. Did it bother you? Or was it just me? I tend to read over my chapters a few times, so maybe I just read too much into it... And I might have gone a little 'kiss' crazy... I always hated it when things aren't descriptive about that...but thats just me...maybe I'm a perv? Maybe not? I just don't feel satisfied with 'he kissed me and my world exploded...yada yada...then he pulled away'. I'm like....*cricket sounds* THATS IT?!? That all your going to give me? Its Edward freaking Cullen! I want to know how he kissed you and what kinda sounds he made! Jeeze!

So I started writing this chapter in Alice's POV, not finished though, so it will take a little while, maybe a few more days, but this should hold you over just fine, right? I have a poll up on my profile on which other POV you would want, since Bella and Edward kind of went into their own little world... So go vote on that after you review and keep in mind for those of you who will automatically pick edward - I suck at writing in his POV! Idk why, but I do...but if you still insist...I will try my best! And you better review, because they seriously keep me going! I got 30+ on the last chapter, wanna give me the same? Unfortunetly there's no bargin this time, but just do it, for me? :)

Oh, and as for finding out what they are...that wont happen for a while, I don't think... For two reasons: 1) I am still working on a few little details and 2) It's the last main thing in the plot...and you don't mind this story being long and full of fluff, right? Especially now that they know about each other, there are endless possibilities for fun and fluff! So that said, I will say again that you should expect this story to be veeery long. And packed full of fun and love! Woot!


	18. Chapter 17: Chaos APOV

AN: So I know a lot of you didn't want a full chapter in another POV, so I made it a short one. It's not the whole thing, starts off after the guys show their wings and ends pretty short. Its kind of something to hold you over for the next chapter...I'm still working on it and since its the whole 'connection' chapter - one where they discuss things about themselves and how they are alike...yada yada - its a little hard for me to write. I had started writing it in Bella's pov, but it just wasnt working, so I restarted and wrote in Edward's pov and figured out that _that_ was the POV it was meant to be written in. Funny thing is...when I was writing it in Bella's pov...it came out VERY perverted! Idk if it was to show me that it wasn't the right POV or I was in a perverted mood... :\

So ya, its short and I needed to write an APOV because there were sertain points I wanted to add. Hope you like it and don't forget to review.... if you want, though you dont have to..its kinda something to hold you over till I'm done with the next chapter. It will be a while, cus its an important chapter. SO! Enjoy!

Chapter 17

**APOV**

I was dreaming. I had to be. No girl could get lucky enough for this to happen - especially me. First, I had a hard time believing that Jasper was even real, let alone _mine_. He was just too perfect. The way he looked at me sometimes was just so intense, I even found myself doubting that it was even real - like I was just imagining it. And me doubting myself is a rare thing, it hardly ever happens.

Then I after a while when everything was going perfect between us, I began to wonder how that could be. I had always watched tons of shows about dating or being in love and none of them said anything about it being perfect - never fighting, not finding anything in the other person that you hated, nothing negative at all. But that was how it was going between me and Jasper - there was nothing I could find about him that I didn't like, we never fought, and every touch and look just kept getting better and better.

It was too good to be true.

And now, after thinking I had lost him forever, he stands before me with beautiful light brown wings behind him. Not to mention the fact that he had no shirt on and my eyes kept wandering down to his chiseled abs.

What had I done to deserve such a wonderful thing? A few moments ago I had felt empty inside because I didn't think we could ever get back together. Not to mention the loads of guilt I felt for having put him through this when we all could have kept it from happening.

And now, as he stares at me from across the hall, his beautiful smile showing, his eyes shining with love as his eyes raked over every inch of me - I felt whole. There was no remaining pain or guilt, it had all evaporated.

Jasper had just shown me two very important things that had put every broken piece of me back together. First was that even after the break up and even if I had hurt him, he still wanted me if I would still have him. And second was that we shared a very important part of each other - our race. We were alike in more ways then we thought and I knew that would bring us closer then we were before.

With all this new and exciting information I couldn't help the reaction that came to me.

"Ahhh!" I screeched loudly as I stomped my feet. I felt as if I would spontaneously combust with all of this good news. I had never wanted anything more in that moment then to be in Jasper's arms. It felt like forever since I had heard his voice or felt his gentle, loving touch that left me breathless every time.

Then he seemed to read my mind and I felt a shiver run up my spine as he spoke my name softly and began to make his way forward. All the excitement I felt before was now extinguished and replaced with overwhelming love and need for him.

I slowly began to step forward too, trying to make the distance between us go by quicker. My heart stuttered in my chest as he grinned even wider and quickened his pace.

After what felt like forever, we finally made it to each other and immediately Jasper had me pulled into a bone crushinghug as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. He breathed deeply, as if basking in my sent, and I shivered as his warm hands snaked their way to the small of my back.

"Alice." Jasper breathed, his warm breath tickling my neck. His voice was tight with so much emotion that I felt happy tears begin to form in my eyes. The way he said my name was another thing to add to the list of unbelievably great things about him. It rolled off of his tongue as if it was the most glorious thing to him. There was so much love and adoration with a hint of desperation in it, like he still had an underlying fear that I was either not real or would run away from him.

"Jasper." I cried, as I too buried my face in his neck and kissed him gently there. He shivered at the contact and as soon as my lips parted from his skin, he pulled back slightly and pulled my face to his, kissing me with so much passion my knees literally buckled from under me.

Without breaking the kiss, he quickly wound his arm around my waist to keep my from falling. At the same time we both tilted our heads to the side to deepen the kiss and we were both so lost in each other, we didn't even bother to break for a sufficient supply of air.

I let my fingers gently trace the lines of his jaw that had a slight stubble, causing him to groan into my mouth, the vibrations making its way to my lips.

He pulled away from me but I could still feel his breath on my lips as I kept my eyes close, just enjoying his touch and smell. He didn't say anything or even move, so eventually I opened my eyes and met his. It seemed as if he was waiting for me to look at him, because the moment I did, his eyes changed to show some emotion I couldn't understand.

"I love you too." He said softly, as he gently ran his thumb over my cheek lovingly.

_Too?_ My breath hitched in surprise as I realized something - he had heard me the day I left him at the mall. Of course he did... his hearing was as good as mine.

I was so shocked at this new revelation - his confession that he loved me, that he had heard me say it the first time, and that the unknown emotion in his eyes was his love for me - that I didn't know what to say. Unfortunately that doesn't mean I didn't say anything at all...

"Really?" I asked, and right after the words flew through my mouth I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. That wasn't exactly the romantic thing I wanted to say to the gorgeous man in front of me that proclaimed his love for me.

But being as perfect as he is, he didn't mind what I said at all. He chuckled and gave me a peck on the lips before saying, "Really, really."

I giggled and pecked him on the lips back, but before I could pull away to say anything, he had grabbed my face and attached my lips to his firmly.

"I love you, too too!" I laughed when he finally released me.

"I know...I heard." Jasper smiled at me knowingly, and I returned it along with a small giggle.

He once again held my face gently in his hands as he let out a sigh. The look of pure joy and contentment on his face made me feel more needed and loved then I ever have. I now knew that he felt as complete as me when in the others presence. It was like I wasn't fully living without him by my side. Like I was never emotionally content without his warm touch or just hearing his voice.

"I can't believe he was right." Jasper laughed, his gaze shifting a little over my shoulder to my wings. He smiled softly as he reached out to touch them and I instinctively flinched, not ever having anyone touch them before other then Bella or Rose.

"I'm sorry." Jasper apologized as he pulled his hand away.

I caught his hand before it made its way to rest by his side. I brought it up to my face and gently placed a soft kiss to the palm of his hand. "No. I'm sorry. I've just never had anyone touch them except Bella or Rose - I just wasn't expecting it." I said softly, releasing his hand that instantly made its way back over my shoulder.

This time I didn't flinch, but revealed in the amazing feeling of every gentle stroke.

"So beautiful." He murmured softly. "And your's are just as beautiful as Bella's."

I gasped in surprised, not expecting him to have caught what I had said so long ago. Now that I thought of it, I couldn't help but wonder how many times Bella, Rose and I had spoken quietly to each other when the guys could hear the whole time.

I managed to suppress the groan of embarrassment at the thought. All of us had gotten into the habit of using our gift of hearing - often speaking to each other quietly so that others couldn't catch us speaking about personal stuff or maybe even about the person that was within normal hearing range.

It was so mind blowing to think that this whole time we were trying to hide this huge secret about ourselves from the guys who were in fact trying to keep it from us. It was amazing that we hadn't seemed to have found out sooner - there were just so many ways we could slip up without even realizing it; what with them having better senses then we had originally thought.

My mind skimmed through the endless possibilities, all the new things I would learn about Jasper and even all the new experiences I would be able to share with him. Before, when we were intent on keeping the secret from the guys, no matter how far our relationships went, I was okay with the limits I had made for myself. Like not being able to express to him the small things in my life, like the feeling of just being free when I made it home, where I could let my wings out and be myself. I was okay with never getting to express myself in that way to him.

But now there was no limits. I could tell him everything, share all of my past memories, express to him every little feeling I had when I was being the real me. The part that was also a part of him.

And I had thought that I loved him with all I had before... Now it was like I had so much more space left in me to grow in my love for him because there was now so many new things to learn, so many ways we could grow closer now.

And once again, I was amazed at the amount of love and joy that emanated from me. I became even more giddy, even more elated, now that I knew he would be around for as long as he wanted me. And from the look in his eyes, I could tell it would take a lot for him to ever pull away.

We had the rest of our lived to learn about each other, grow together, love together. And I couldn't wait to start.

.


	19. Chapter 18: Dirty Little Weasel

**AN: K, so not a very long wait, right? So read and don't skip the AN at the bottom! Enjoy :)**

Chapter 18: Dirty Little Weasel

I have come to the conclusion that I have never and will never be this happy in my life. Also, what has happened in the past hour has been the best sixty minutes of my entire life. It surpassed even the day we were adopted by Carlisle and that was a very good feeling.

Emotionally, I was on a high. I had so many strong emotions running through me that I just couldn't contain them. I couldn't keep the grin off my face, I couldn't keep from laughing at every little damn thing that happened, and I especially couldn't keep my hands off of Bella.

And at about the time my hands started drawing lazy circles on the fabric above her hip as she sat comfortable in my lap, I would have begun doubting whether or not she would want me touching her in that way. But frankly at the moment, I couldn't bring myself to give a shit. Not necessarily the part of her being uncomfortable with me touching her, but the whole getting rejected part. If I were to get rejected, I don't think it would affect me one bit.

So thankfully, she hadn't seemed to mind my small touches, and just that little bit of knowledge seemed to up my happy scale that much further. At this point, I was beginning to wonder when I would stop getting happier. I mean a man can only be so happy to the point where he looses his mind, right? And now was not the time to freak Bella out with my insane happiness.

Frankly it was just too much to process right now. About a few hours ago I was pretty sure that I would never get to hold Bella in my arms again and now here I am with her sitting in my lap. Not only that, but I come to find out that she was just like Jasper, Emmett and I. Rosalie, Alice and her had wings also.

And from that thought, my mind was a jumbled mess. So full of questions that needed to be answered and hopes for the future that I wanted - no needed - to fulfill. Now that I knew nothing could come between Bella and I, there were so many more open doors for us. We could now have a proper relationship without all the secrets and differences.

But then I thought about what the news of her being like me meant. Did she remember her whole life? Did she also go through the struggle of keeping our uniqueness from the world?

I felt my happiness drop a meter at the painful thoughts that ran through my mind. I was overjoyed that I shared such a big part of my life with Bella, but if it were my choice, I would have chosen something better for her. I wished that she would have had a life better then one that was filled with such hard pressures every day. She deserved to live a normal, happy, carefree life.

But who was I to wish she was normal? How did I know she had it all bad? How did I know she didn't enjoy being the way she was? Emmett and Jasper always told me that I was brooding - always pulling myself down and looking into the bad parts of things instead of focusing on the good.

And when I really thought of it, I don't believe I would wish another life for myself. Especially a normal one. One where I didn't get to experience the joy of having such close brothers or of being able to fly - something that _no one_, no normal person, would ever get to experience like I could. That alone was enough for me to not want things to have been differently. God made me this way, and who was I to wish differently?

So now that I think of it, Bella could very well think the same. And if she was okay with the way she was, then so was I. In the end, all I wanted was for her to be happy and quite frankly it wasn't like I could actually undo everything. So what was the point in worrying about it?

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked quietly from her position on my lap.

We had all congregated to the living room in Rosalie's apartment, much to my disappointment. Although I don't want to sonud creepy, I was actually looking forward to seeing Bella's appartment. Where someone lives can tell a lot about a person - even the stuff they tend to keep secret from others.

Case in point: Jasper. He seems well put together and neat, right? Well yes, his appearance is, but his bedroom is a complete pigsty. And same goes for Emmett... He's obviously a complete mess - appearance wise and mentally - but his room is surprisingly tidy and organized.

But soon after arriving in Rose's apartment, I quickly forgot about the whole matter when Bella sat comfortably in my lap. And I was relieved and slightly amazed that her hand had mostly healed - just a faint discoloring around her knuckles. The little similarities we shared was going to take some getting used too...

I was brought out of my thoughts as Bella rested her head on my shoulder, her warm breath hitting the side of my neck. I shivered as I felt her nuzzle her nose into my neck and laughed when I felt her take a deep breath.

"Did you just sniff me?" I asked amused, as I turned my head slightly to look at her. She pulled her head back slightly to look up at me and grinned sheepishly.

"Maybe." She whispered, then brought her face closer to mine so that her lips hovered over mine. "I just missed your smell." She breathed against my lips, earning her another shiver.

I would have replied with something witty, like maybe asking her if that was all she missed, but with her body pressed against mine, the feel of her warm breath on my face and the unbearable her lips would occasionally skim across mine was maddening. I couldn't stand the way her lips were almost resting on mine, yet not quite there. It was a tease and that was exactly what she intended it to be - but I'll be damned if I cared at the moment.

So I growled in frustration - not wanting her to get away without some sort of indication that I was onto her little game - and melded my lips to her. She sighed against my lips and shifted so that she lay sideways on my lap, her arms finding their ways around my neck, as my own arms made their way around her waist.

It was totally insane how such a little thing could make me even happier. Her little, adorable sigh of relief just made me that much more happy. It was such a small thing, yet it spoke so much. It made me feel confident in knowing that she felt relief when she was close to me, just like I felt. There were no words to describe the wonderful feeling of completeness when I had her in my arms.

Just when I was tilting my head so that I could deepen the kiss, there was a loud clearing of a throat from across the room. I sighed dejectedly and pulled away from Bella. I laughed loudly when I saw that she still had her eyes closed tightly and her lips in a pout as she began to blindly lean towards me.

"More." She whined as her pouted lips made contact with my chin.

I chuckled and kissed her once on the lips, making a loudly smacking sound.

"More." She said again and we did this a few times before Alice decided it was enough.

"Okay!" Alice laughed from her spot on Jasper's lap, her back laying against his chest with his head resting on her shoulder, "That's enough of that! Now where to start?"

"How about we start with exactly how you big lugs got into the apartment?" Rose asked, her tone slightly annoyed, though I could tell she wasn't as angry as she'd like to be - what with having just found out her oaf of a boyfriend happened to be just like her.

I knew this was coming, and if I was being honest with myself I'd have to admit that I was a little worried. Now that I thought of it, the whole idea seemed like a horrible, un-thought-out idea - obviously un-thought-out since it was Emmett's idea.

The girls hadn't seemed to get too angry at us in the beginning, but that was mostly because they were a little distracted with the fact that they were caught with their wings out and we were showing them ours. But now that things had calmed down quiet a bit, would they be angry with us?

Obviously Emmett didn't detect the annoyance in Rosalie's voice, because if he had he wouldn't have said what came spewing out of his mouth as he grinned arrogantly at Jasper and I.

"Yeah, you guys can go ahead and thank me." He bellowed as he held his massive arms wide, beaconing us to give him the praise he thought he deserved.

The moment the words came tumbling out of his mouth, Rosalie's hand shot out and slapped him upside the head. "Did you ever stop to think that you were invading our privacy?" Rosalie asked angrily.

"Of course I did!" Emmett said, "But I was a man on a mission, working to get my woman back and nothing was going to stop me. Not even the thought of you castrating me for practically breaking into your apartment."

I suppressed a gasp and gag all at once as I saw Rosalie crumble at Emmett's words. Gasp because it was a surprise to see her not put up a fight and gag because she gave him doe eyes and crawled into his lap, smothering him with kisses.

"Wow, Rosalie, you really know how to lay down the law." Alice giggled.

"Yeah, that peck was particularly harsh, you might have torn off his lips!" Bella giggled along side Alice.

"So how exactly did you guys get in here?" Alice asked, turning her head to the side to address Jasper before Rosalie had the chance to say anything.

Jasper rolled his eyes, keeping his head on her shoulder. "We got the keys from Ms. Dwyer."

"You weaseled the keys from poor Ms. Dwyer?" Bella squeaked, her head whipping around to me. I shrunk back slightly, trying to put on my most innocent expression and shrugged.

"Emmett." I said quickly, "Emmett weaseled the keys from Ms. Dwyer."

Everyone instantly turned to Emmett who was looking all too innocent as he hummed to himself while playing with the hem of Rosalie's shorts.

"I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Does every scheme start and end with Emmett?" Alice asked, as she shook her head disapprovingly at Emmett.

"Hey, hey, now! You just hold on right there little Missy!" Emmett said while pointing a finger at Alice, "Now I may be at the root of this here sitiation," Yes, he did say _sitiation_, not situation, "but just remember we would not all be here together if it wasn't for my accurate guesstimation."

"What are you talking about, Emmett?" Rosalie sighed heavily as she lazily began to play with a curl above his ear.

"Okay, how about we start from the beginning?" I sighed, not looking forward to having this long story chopped into little pieces. Once everyone had nodded in agreement, I proceeded to run through all the events starting from getting home to Emmett, who was determined and dead set on the fact that the girls were like us, and ending with the part of us lieing to "poor Ms. Dwyer" about why we needed into the apartment.

"Okay..." Rosalie said slowly as she peer down at Emmett who looked all too proud of himself. "Setting aside the fact that I am angry that you manipulated your way into our apartment, I have to say...I'm quite proud of you, Emmett."

Again I was stuck between wanting to do two things - laugh or gasp. Laughing because, seeing from Emmett's proud look, he didn't get that Rosalie had pretty much told him that she didn't think he was capable of such a smart plan and gasping because, though I didn't know Rosalie very well, I knew she was not one to hand out compliments freely.

"I guess you'll want this back then?" I sighed bitterly as I held out the key to Bella. For a moment, my mind had run with the idea of being able to come and go as we pleased through the girls' apartment, but logically, that was too much to ask.

I watched carefully as Bella bit her lip and cocked her head in deep thought as she stared intently at the key that lay in the palm of my hand. She then turned to Rosalie and Alice for a silent conversation and after a moment both Alice and Rose shrugged, large grins breaking out on their faces.

"You guys can keep it." Bella smiled at me as she closed my hand around the key. I just sat there, waiting for her to laugh in my face and snatch the keys out of my hand while claiming that I was too gullible for my own good.

And when that didn't happen...my own grin broke out on my face, threatening to break my it in half.

"Sweet!" Emmett cheered.

"You know what this means, right girls?" Rosalie sighed dramatically as she frowned at Alice and Bella.

I watched intently as Bella's eyebrows scrunched and a frown formed on her lips. "Yeah..." She sighed heavily, "No more calling Mike, Tyler or Eric for late night booty calls..."

I didn't even get a chance to respond, just having my eyes bug out of my head at her words, before Alice cut in.

"Or our annual drunken orgies..." Alice added in as she pretended to sniff back tears.

"Or running around in our underwear..." Rosalie sighed, dropping her head down on Emmett's shoulder in defeat.

"No!" Emmett's loud voice sounded through the room. "No, no! You can do all those things!"

"Emmett!" Jasper hissed angrily, "I don't think I'll be all too happy about the late night booty calls!"

"Oh, except for that! No one touches my Rosie." Emmett said as he wound his arms around Rosalie.

Before I could calm down from the anger that shot through my body at the thought of Bella and Mike... - I couldn't even finish that thought - Bella sighed dreamily, resting her head in her hand as she gazed off into space. "Oh, Mike...How I'll miss his touch..."

I suppressed the growl that threated to rise from my thought, not wanting to give into her little game - though I knew she could already tell she was getting to me with my tense posture.

I grinned evilly and grabbed a hold of her leg, right above her knee cap, where I knew she was particularly ticklish. She instantly screeched in surprise and tried to wiggle her way out of my grip but I was having none of that.

"Edward!" She giggled, as she tried to pull my hand away from her leg.

"So Mike is better then me, huh?" I taunted.

"Yes! Of course!" She said between laughs, "What ever gave you the idea that you were anywhere near his level of amazingness!"

"Bella!" I growled as my hands moved higher, until they began to tickled her sides. "Say I'm better! _Now!_"

"No!" She gasped as she wiggled her way out of my grasp, sending herself crashing to the ground at my feet. She landed on her stomach, her hands holding her a few inches off the ground as she turned her head to grin triumphantly up at me.

I gasped and breathed her name softly as my gaze fell on the skin that shown on her back from where her shirt had ridden up. There, half covered by the lacey bottom of her shirt, was a distinct black tattoo in the shape of wings. Just like my own; in the same exact spot.

I scooted myself closer to the edge of the couch, my eyes trained on the black markings on her skin, and then lent forward to gently run the tips of my fingers over the tattoo. Bella flinched violently when she realized what I was doing, but made no move to stop me. I then slowly pushed the hem of her shirt a little higher, revealing the numbers I knew were going to be there.

_014561._

Hers were the same as mine, although the last number of mine is 2.

_014562._

Jasper's was _014564_ and Emmett's was_ 014566_. So does that mean?

"Alice, Rose - what are the last numbers on yours?" I asked, not having to clarify what I was talking about since they were all watching through my whole observation.

"01456_3_." Alice said automatically.

"01456_5_." Rose spoke right after.

I let out a breath, and gently bent down to pull Bella to her feet. I gently stroked her face when I saw the worry in her eyes, then moved so that I was in the center of the living room.

"One." I said pointing to my chest, "Two," I pointed to Bella, "Three," I pointed to Alice, "Four," I pointed behind Alice to Jasper, "Five." I pointed to Rose, "And six." And lastly I pointed to Emmett.

It was silent for a few moments, as we all took in this bit of information. It was surprising and seemed to bring on a new wave of questions and fears. Jasper, Emmett and I hadn't let the fact that the last number of ours were all odd slip our notice. And though we spoke it aloud, asking why it was that there was exactly one number between all of our, we had never guessed anything like this. Although now that I thought of it, it made perfect sense.

"What does that mean?" Alice spoke quietly as pushed herself up off of Jasper's lap to show him her tattoo.

"Someone branded us." Rosalie growled angrily.

"Like a bare code...to keep track of us." Bella spoke quietly as she stared intently down at the carpet.

"Well shit, don't they know how to make us feel special." Emmett spoke bitterly as he too inspected Rosalie's tattoo.

"Who would do that?" Alice asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"I'm taking it you all don't remember either?" I asked, addressing the girls.

"No, the first thing we remember is waking up in the hospital together." Rose said.

"So they found you three together?"

"Yeah, I guess so. They didn't really tell us anything other then the fact that we had no parents or no place to go. And we just never asked...frankly, just from _that_ bit of knowledge, we concluded that no one wanted us. So why would it have mattered if we knew the details?" Rose replied somewhat bitterly.

"Now that I think of it..." Bella said, "They didn't even bother to tell us anything. I mean even if we didn't ask...shouldn't they have told us _something_? And why would they have taken the fact that we were found with no relations to anyone so lightly? Also, we were in the hospital...wouldn't they have seen the tattoo's in the examination? They didn't think to question anything at all?"

This new information made me feel a bit more uneasy about our past. What she said made a lot of sense and seemed to apply to Jasper, Emmett and I too. We were also found in a hospital, obviously not the same one as the girls since we weren't together. But if we all seemed to have come from the same place, why was it that we were separated?

"What hospital?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch and pulling Bella back into my lap.

"Uhm...I don't remember exactly. It was some hospital around here. We didn't exactly go far...and the orphanage is just a few miles from here." Bella frowned as she layed her head back down on my shoulder.

It was obvious that the girls weren't comfortable moving somewhere far away from where they were originally found. Either because they found no need to or they felt some sort of connection here.

"Well then we were close...Emmett, Jasper and I were just a little farther away in Forks." I spoke softly as I gently stroked Bella's hair. "That's were Carlisle and Esme used to live."

"They don't live there anymore?"

"No they live in Colorado now...We moved there a little while after they adopted us. We loved it there because we lived out in the mountains, away from the city were no one could see us. But once we graduated, we decided to move back."

"I'm glad you did." Bella whispered, tilting her head so that she could smile at me.

"Me too." I breathed and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Okay, okay! Jeeze, you guys are almost worse then Emmett and Rose!" Alice giggled, forcing me to pull away from Bella.

"And that's hard to beat!" Emmett boasted.

"I don't believe that was meant as a compliment, Emmett." I sighed, trying to hold back a smile.

"It_ was _a compliment, bro! It just means I got the sexiest girlfriend ever!" Emmett boomed as he pulled Rosalie onto his lap and proceeded to suck on her neck loudly as she giggled.

And just like that, our serious conversation was over. We had all silently agreed to let the subject pass, not wanting it to kill all of our buzz. And I instantly knew that if I had my friends - and especially Bella - by my side, I could handle anything that was thrown at me. I could get through finding out whatever happened to us in our past - that is _if_ we found out...

* * *

And I was checking out the little 'Traffic' tab and I came across some cool facts! :P It said that SWCE has 90 'alerts'. That is a lot! For me that is! It made me super happy! Now if all 90 of you frequently read this...is a mystery... So I for one understand when you don't review, I rarely review on stories myself.... But could you guys maybe review for me? Maybe something small to tell me your there and enjoying the story? Pleeaase? :)

I haven't yet started writing the next chapter, so it won't be very soon but not very long I hope. This was a hard chapter for me to write, so be sure to tell me how I did and if you loved it or hated it. So can I get 20-25 reviews? And remember all criticism is accepted!

So review! Love you guys!


	20. Chapter 19: Ironic

**A/N: 20 reviews...not bad I guess, I would have expected a lot more then that...but that's okay! I understand, I hardly review stories myself, although I usually read already completed stories...I'm impatient, hehe. So heres the next chapter, very long and very fluffy and sweet! Hope you enjoy and don't forget the feedback! Reviews really do make me write better, they boost my self esteem and when I'm feeling better about the storie I write better! So let the fluff commence!**

Chapter 19: Ironic

*Friday Morning*

I lay in bed staring blankly up at the ceiling, my wings tucked comfortable underneath me as I let myself absorb everything. It was a rarity that I ever woke up before Alice came into my room rambling about what I was going to wear today or what was on her agenda. So I definitely didn't waste this sacred moment when it came.

Yesterday was the most hectic and amazing day of my life. So many things happened that seemed to do more then just get me closer to Edward -it changed my life. Now that I had time to think over it all, I realized that this was a bigger change then any of us realized. Learning this about each other didn't just help us learn about each other personally, but it added to the mystery of our past. It also added to our worries; having someone you cared about more then your own life to experience what you would never wish anyone else to experience.

It was different when I was going through all of this alone. But now that Edward was too, I had to fight to keep myself from worrying about him. I had to keep reminding myself that this life was nothing new to Edward, he had been through almost the same thing I had been through growing up.

That thought didn't help me feel any better though but made me smile when I thought about his carefree green eyes. No matter what he had been through, he had turn out perfect. Whatever happened in Edward's past from the age of fourteen had shaped him into the man he was today and I wouldn't ask for him any other way.

I was brought out of my thoughts that had etched a huge smile on my face when I heard the soft padding of footsteps outside my door. Next came the soft click of my door being open and I resisted the urge to jump frantically as I settled down under the covers, working on steadying my breathing.

I closed my eyes, my head falling to the side, away from the door. A moment passed and I could heard Alice as her feet dragged against the carpet, until I could feel her presence standing right beside the bed.

I waited a few seconds more, readying myself to pounce, until I felt her hand on the bed as she leaned over me. I suppressed a giggle as I felt her breath on my face as she breathed extremely loudly, sounding almost like a panting dog.

And then, before I could jump at her, something wet slid across my cheek, making me gasp and jump away.

"Alice!" I screeched, dragging a heavy hand across my slobber coated cheek. "Did you just lick me!?"

Alice pulled away from the bed, her hands clasped behind her back as she shrugged innocently. "Maybe."

"You're sick!" I said, but could keep from giggling.

"I knew you were awake! So I had to think of something fast before you tried to scare me!"

"How did you know I was awake?" I asked, seriously wondering how she could possible know. I wasn't a very good liar, that was for sure, but I could definitely pretend to be unconscious. I fell unconscious frequently when I hit my head either running into things or falling, so it would have come as a second nature to me.

"Bella..." Alice tisked disapprovingly as she bounce up onto the bed, sitting cross legged in front of me. "I've been waking you up for how long now? Five years? I do believe I would be able to tell when your faking or not. Your flutter when you dream and when your not dreaming you change positions frequently. And almost never are your wings tucked under you, almost holding you in a sitting position."

"Hmm..." I hummed, "Although that was extremely creepy, I'll let it slide, k?"

She giggled in response as she jumped off the bed and headed straight for my closet.

"Alice!" I groaned, falling sideways so that my head hit the pillow with a soft 'poof'. "I don't wanna go anywhere today! I wanted to―"

I didn't finish my sentence, because when I tilted my head to peer at the night stand to see exactly what time it was, I found a beautiful rose sitting beside it. I shot up into a sitting position so fast that I had to take a moment to wait for the head rush to clear, then crawled over to the table to pick it up.

"Bella, what were you―" Alice started to say as she emerged from my closet, but stopped, a large grin taking over her face as she saw what I held in my hand.

"What's this?" I asked quietly, spinning the rose in my hand and gently running my fingers over the soft petals.

"Looks like a rose to me, Bella." Alice remarked sarcastically.

"No!" I laughed, "I mean where did it come from?"

"Well..." Alice hesitated as she sat down on the bed next to me. "I didn't want to have this talk with you just yet... but I guess now is a better time than any. You see, Bella, when two flowers really love each other...a bee pollinates them. Then without getting into all the nasty technicalities of it all, eventually a baby flower is produced..."

I turned my head slowly to her, my eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You know thats not what I meant."

"I know." She giggled. "But I'll be serious now... Well its pretty safe to say that neither Rosalie or I put it there, and I really hope its not Jasper, for your sake of course. And Emmett is too caught up in sucking Rosalie's face off to play any jokes or show interest in her sister. So either some stranger broke into the apartment and put it there, or...it was Edward!"

"No shit?" I laughed, rolling my eyes at her.

Alice pouted and started to reply but was interrupted by the sound of the elevator doors opening outside my apartment. We both fell silent, cocking our heads towards the general direction of the elevator, and listened intently.

"Honey, I'm home!" Emmett's voice boomed from the hallway, followed two pairs of footsteps as they walked down the hallways.

"Emmett!" Rosalie growled from her apartment down the hall, "This is not your home!"

"Oh, honey, hush." Emmett replied, "A man can dream, can't he?"

"Did you just tell me to hush!?" Rosalie screeched, followed by the sound of her bedroom door slamming open and her angry stomping towards the main hallway.

"Ruh roh..." I heard Emmett breath as Alice and I made our way to my front door.

"Yeah, ruh roh, you idiot." Jasper's voice was heard next, causing Alice to squeal quietly and quicken her pace. "You don't tell your girlfriend to shut up."

"I didn't tell her to shut up!" Emmett argued.

"You told her to hush..."

"Exactly!"

"Emmett, hush is the equivalent of shut up! Hush is just a nicer way of saying shut up!"

There was a short pause from the other side of the argument as we finally made our way through the front door of my apartment. We stepped out just in time to see Emmett shake his head vigorously, and whine a "nuh uh!".

"Jazzy!" Alice squealed as she jumped into his arms. He was obviously expecting it, because he caught her with a chuckle, easily spinning her around while placing soft kisses all over her face.

Before I could ask the question that had been bugging me since I heard only the two pairs of footsteps exit the elevator, Rosalie finally made it to us, glaring at Emmett as she stopped in front of him.

"Did you seriously tell me to shut up!?" She growled as she out an accusing finger at him, so fast that he flinched away from her.

Emmett didn't reply but his eyes grew wide and innocent while his lower lip trembled. The sight even made me feel guilty and I wasn't even the one that did anything to him.

"Stop it!" Rosalie whined as she slapped her hands over her eyes to shield her from Emmett's adorable pout. "Don't do that when I'm angry at you!"

"Rosie." Emmett squeaked, his voice shaky and high pitched. He then stepped forward, kneeling down to her height, and pulled her into a hug as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, dry, fake sobs shaking his entire body.

I couldn't help but smile as Rosalie giggled and wrapped her arms around him. But then she ruined my happy smile by biting his ear, causing him to moan. I shrieked, my hands shooting up to cover something, but I couldn't decide which was worse, seeing it or hearing it.

"So where is Edward?" I asked rather loudly, trying to tune out Emmett and Rosalie's disgusting noises. I turned away from them, praying that my gift of tuning voices out - having had experience from the numerous conversations about shopping from Alice - would not fail me now.

"Oh, he got called into work early this morning." Jasper replied, as he wound his arms around Alice from behind, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Emmett said, doing us a favor by detaching his lips from Rosalie, "He was all pissed because he wanted to spend the day with you."

I could help the enormous grin that spread across my face, nor could I help the strong feeling of elation that coursed through me at those words. "Then I guess I'll just have to pay him a visit." I said, and quickly ran off to my room to change.

__________

An hour later and I was walking down the crowded street, only a few minutes from Edward's work. It had taken me a while to choose what I wanted to wear, and at the time I had even considered asking Alice for help, but decided against it because I knew that if I wanted to see Edward sometime_ today_, then that would not be the best choice.

So even though it had taken longer then usual because I found for once I wanted to look nice for Edward - not that I was a complete bum, but I just knew he didn't really care what I was wearing - it was a lot shorter a time then it would have been had I asked Alice for help. And even without her help I felt like I did a very nice job, having picked my favorite black tank top and skinny jeans.

Also there was the fact that Alice gave me a not-so-subtle nod of approval as I passed by her towards the elevator that made me feel better about it...

But nonetheless I finally made it to the little music store at the end of the block and instantly spotted Edward as he stacked Cd's along the wall. Having taken note that there was currently only one customer seated in the corner of the store listening to a CD, I tiptoed quietly up behind him, waiting till he had placed the stack of Cd's in his hand safely on the wall...

"Rawr!" I growled and jumped into his back, continuing to growl playfully into his ear as his body shook with laughter.

"Hello, beautiful." He sighed, as if relieved by my visit - and with the sense of relief I was feeling with my body wrapped around his, I wouldn't doubt that that was exactly what he was feeling.

"You snuck into my room." I stated quietly as I readjusted my legs that were wrapped around his waist.

"Yes, I did." He replied, no hint of shame or regret in his voice as he turned his head toward mine that was rested on his shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes playfully, pursing my lips. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I was planning to, to tell you I had to go to work,but..." He paused, gazing intensely into my eyes, "You know your even more beautiful when you sleep?"

My legs went weak at the intensity of his voice and my breathing became more labored. Not knowing what to say to that comment_ slash compliment - I_ was never one to handle compliments very well, mostly because I didn't get them often - and having to try hard not to jump him right here at his work, I decided to make a joke of it. "Exactly what every girl wants to hear," I said, it coming out more breathy then I intended it to be, "that her boyfriend thinks she's prettier when she's unconscious."

Edward rolled his eyes and untangled my legs from around him, gently placing me back on my feet. I wobbled a little, still dazzled by him, but stayed upright. He then took my face in his warm hand, took a step forward so that his body stood flush against mind, my back slightly pressed against the shelf of Cd's behind me, and kissed me softly on the lips.

"Pretty does not even begin to describe you." He breathed against my lips, totally ignoring what I said about looking better unconscious.

"If you say so..." I mumbled stupidly, not able to form a very coherent thought with all the need for him that was running through my body. I wanted so badly for him to continue to dazzle me, continue to love on me, but I knew this wasn't a very appropriate place.

"I do say so." He replied, kissing me once more and then pulling away quickly. I took a few needed deep breaths, and looked up at him to see his eyes narrowed at me, a slightly look of annoyance on his face.

"What?" I asked, wondering if I had did something wrong when his jaw locked into place as his eyes racked over my entire body.

Edward sighed heavily, closed his eyes tightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you have any idea how tempting you are?" He said, laughing breathlessly.

"Oh..." I mumbled, biting my lip as I mentally sighed in relief. For a minute there I thought I had done something wrong. But obviously it was the opposite - I had done something _right._

"Stop!" Edward growled and I looked up just to catch him looking away from my lips quickly. "Stop doing that!"

I could help but giggled, a feeling of elation washing over me at the knowledge that I could actually be _tempting_. Never in my life had I thought that word could ever apply to me. But then again, when I thought that I hadn't even let the thought of having a boyfriend cross my mind because I didn't think it was possible for me to have one because of what I am.

"What time do you get off work?" I asked, as I stepped forward to hug him, my arms wrapping around his waist and my chin resting on his chest.

"At six." He sighed, bending over slightly to rest his fore head against mine.

"So long?" I pouted.

"Ya, and if I know Alice at all, she will probably have started her cosmetic torture on you at about that time."

I whined loudly, having totally forgotten about the party later tonight. "I really don't wanna gooooo." I cried as I scrunched my face up in disgust.

Edward chuckled, then closed the distance between our lips, gently pulling my lower lip into his mouth. Just as I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss, the twinkling bells of the door chimed, causing Edward to groan and pull away.

"I don't want to gooooo!" I whined again, this time not referring to the party.

"I don't want you to either." Edward frowned, "but six o'clock will be here before you know it."

I sighed defeatedly as he grasped my head in his hands, kissing the top of my head lovingly. He lingered for a moment, his lips still pressed to my fore head, then sighed and said, "I'll see you tonight."

"Love you." I pouted as I began to back away slowly.

"Love you too." He replied without a moment of hesitation as he smiled warmly at me.

I huffed in annoyance as my back hit the glass door, letting me know that I couldn't linger any longer, and headed out into the busy street.

_______________________

Pathetic, that was one way of referring to what I had done, but I just like to call it good thinking.

Usually I would postpone the Alice torture for as long as possible - by either busying myself with other things or simply running away from her when she came near me with an eyelash curler or some other form of make up contraption - but today I walked into it with open arms, wanting to get it done as quickly as possible. So surprisingly, I asked Alice if she could do her 'work' before six, so that I would have time to spend with Edward before the party at seven.

Not only did I ask her to do it earlier then needed, but because I did so, she stated that because it was two hours before the party, sometime later she would have to touch up my make up. So I was going to put up with it twice in one night. Even more torture then was needed, but totally worth it.

So by 6:15 I was already done up, my hair curled, face covered with makeup and glitter, and ready to meet Edward when he came home from work.

My heart jumped at the small error in thought. My apartment wasn't actually _his _...but it sure did feel nice saying - or thinking -that.

"I'm so proud of you Bella!" Alice gushed as she rummaged through her closet for the pair of shoes she had bought for me without my permission. "You're finally seeing the light! First, you pick a very cute outfit to meet Edward without my help and then you asked me to make you up? It's music to my ears! My baby is growing up! The heaven's ha―"

"Okay, okay!" I said loudly, not wanting to hear anymore. "I can see how you may be thinking I am seeing the light...but you have failed to see that Edward is actually the drive for my actions. So technically, its not a really my―"

This time she cut me off by stepping out of her closet and chucking a shoe box at me. "I don't care." She stated, "It's a step in the right direction, no matter what reason you're doing it."

"Whatever you say..." I mumbled as I opened the shoe box to be met with my worse nightmare - heels. "I'm not wearing these."

"Yes, you are!" Alice growled, more angrily then I had expected.

I jumped in surprise, raising an eyebrow in question to her attitude.

"Okay..." She sighed heavily, "Look at it this way...they will make your legs look amazing for Edward!"

"Edward doesn't care about―"

"Oh, don't give me that crap! He may not think it matters but it doesn't mean he wont enjoy it!"

"Fine!"

A few minutes later, after I had succeeded in attaching the death traps to my feet, I stepped into the elevator, on my way to the guy's apartment. I was going to hang out there until Rose and Alice were ready.

Because I was in such a daze when I had entered the elevator, I didn't notice until I had passed the 23rd floor that I had either not pressed a floor or had pressed the wrong one.

"Oops." I giggled to myself, imagining how silly it was for me to step into the elevator and press some random number, and pressed the right button for the floor.

I sighed and rested my head back on the elevator wall, my halo and wings dangling from one hand and my purse in the other. A moment later I was startled by the sound of the door opening and footsteps entering the elevator. My eyes snapped open and rested on the still strangely familiar gray haired man.

My body instantly tensed from his presence, but I knew it wasn't because I was afraid he would harm me, but afraid of the reaction I had towards him. I wasn't scared of him at all, if anything I felt safe... And the fact that he didn't exactly look like a very nice man made me wonder why that was. Why was it that, though I didn't know this man at all, did I already have set feelings towards him? How could I have already made up my mind about how I felt about him being around me?

But there still was a small shred of fear inside me. If he was from my past, the one where someone had kept us, numbered us and did god knows what to us, then that could easily mean he had harmed me at one point.

My breathing began to become heavier, the whooshing of every breath sounding louder in the small, aluminum box. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest causing the blood to rush in my ears and my hands to become shaky. My eyes frequently flickered up to the red numbers indicating what floor we were on or passing. We were just now passing 23...

"Halloween party?" Came his deep voice that caused a shiver to run up my spine and my mind to become bombarded with the presence of familiarity. It felt like when you listened to a song, and that song reminded you of some certain situation you were in while listening to it...but you just couldn't quite figure out what that was. It was majorly frustrating and even more frightening.

I reluctantly turned to face him and was met with a warm smile as he motion towards my outfit.

"Yeah..." I said, my voice shaky as I stared intently at his face. I couldn't bring myself to look away, wanting desperately to figure out how I knew him and wanting to get answers to all the questions that were building up inside my head. Especially the old questions about the time we ran into him at my work when Edward was visiting me. It was the day I had followed through with my plan of revenge for Alice and when he had seen Edward beside me behind the counter at the shop, he looked shocked. Like he hadn't expect him to be there.

Before I could let my mind wonder further, he spoke again, this time more hesitantly. "Ironic, huh?" He said quietly, one eyebrow raised as he smiled at me.

I didn't even let myself react to what he said, not even letting myself fully understand what he was saying, because I knew my reaction would be bad. I simply nodded my head and began singing a random song in my mind, trying not to let my mind wrap around his words. And once the elevator doors opened to the 24th floor, I nodded a goodbye to him and stepped out.

I stopped just a few feet outside the elevator and once I heard the doors close behind me, I let my mind run free and instantly gasped and full out ran to Edward's apartment.

By the time I made it to the door - having taken a little longer then I would have liked since I was wearing heels - I was hyperventilating, and this time it wasn't an exaggeration. I began pounding endlessly on the door while I tried to breath properly, not wanting to freak Edward out more then was needed.

"Come," I gasped, trying to get more air in my lungs, "on!"

Finally, after I had begun pounding on the door with both hands, the door flew open to reveal an alarmed looking Edward.

"Bella!?" He asked, his face scrunched in worried as he quickly grabbed my fore arms and dragged me into the apartment. When I wasn't moving fast enough, he easily scooped me up and ran me to the couch, gently setting me down before he ran off towards the kitchen.

I knew instantly that he was getting me a paper bag and silently thanked the heavens for his father who was a doctor. By now my head was pounding painfully and my fingers were tingling and I was beginning to feel light headed.

I wretched my eyes shut tightly and grasped my head in my hands, trying desperately to try and control my breathing, but couldn't quite get a hold of it. A moment later, I felt hands pulling my hands from my head and the crinkling sound of a paper bag in front of me.

Without opening my eyes, I grabbed the bag, pulled it to my mouth, and began to breath deeply, the occasional gasp getting through without my permission.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I was breathing normally and I instantly dropped the bag and fell limply against the back of the couch.

I was in so much bliss, the wonderful feeling of breathing normally taking over me, I didn't realize Edward was trying to get my attention until he grasped each side of my face and shook me.

"Bella!" He cried, his voice weak and worried. "Look at me."

I sighed, and finally opened my eyes and instantly, the guilt washed through me. I was so weak. I totally freaked out without one thought as to how Edward would have reacted. I knew he was a worrier and so I should have been more considerate.

"I'm sorry!" I said quickly, placing my hands over his and leaning forward to give him a quick kiss.

"You're sorry? Bella, you are ridiculous! Are you okay?" He said as stared intently into my eyes, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into my temples.

Again, my mind ran over the man's words and I gasped, again on the verge of hyperventilation. It was such a small comment, yet it spoke so much. I was scared out of my wits and I couldn't keep my emotions from showing on my face and effecting my regular breathing.

"Bella!" Edward spoke loudly, shaking me lightly to get my attention. "You're scaring me! Talk to me!"

"He... elevator...the man." I said between gasped, as I tried to speak to him through frantic eyes.

"What man Bella!?" He almost shouted, and I could see the fear building in his eyes as he began to assume the worse.

"The gray haired man that lives on the 22nd floor!" I actually managed to get out with only two gasps.

"What!?" He cried, as he released my head and his hands began to run over various parts of my body. "Did he hurt you!? Bella, please! You're killing me here!"

"No, no, no!" I said quickly, "No, he didn't touch me."

Edward sighed heavily in relief, and returned his hands to each side of my face and - much to my delight - resumed rubbing my temples. "Okay, Bella, please calm down and tell me what's going on."

I let my eyes slid shut and focused solely on his comforting presence and the feel of his strong hands holding my face. Then I detached myself from what I was going to say, not letting myself react to it like I had done in the elevator, and told him what had happened.

When I had finished and he hadn't spoken a word in reply or even moved, I finally opened my eyes to see his face completely blank.

"Bella, he could have meant anything by saying that." He said, shaking his head in disbelief. Then I remembered that I had failed to tell him about the strange familiarity I felt towards the man, how I somehow knew he was part of the past I couldn't remember.

"Do you remember that first day we met? In the elevator?" I asked.

"Yes, how could I forget?" He said, smiling at the memory as his thumb wondered downward to trace my bottom lip.

"Did you remember that he was there? That he had gotten on the elevator too?" I asked, wondering if he too felt what I felt towards the man and the he was just hiding it to protect me.

"Yes, I remember." He said quickly, his face turning serious and his eyes turning emotionless as he tried to hide his feelings.

"I think he has to do with our past." I said softly, my voice shaking slight because it was the first time I had said it so bluntly.

"Bella, you can't be serious."

"But I am, Edward! He seems so familiar to me! And don't you even tell me that he doesn't to you! I know you better then you think and I know when you're hiding something from me! You don't have to lie because I feel it too! I'm freaking out on the inside too! This is scary! I'm scared..." I said, the last part coming out weak and shaky as tears began to form in my eyes.

"Bella." Edward sighed quietly as he stood from his crouched position in front of me. He then sat beside me on the couch, pulling my into his lap as he gently wiped the tears from my face. "Don't cry, please. Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

"I know it is." I sighed, resting my head under his chin. "I'm not necessarily scared of him...just scared of what he knows."

Edward stayed silent for a few moment, just running a comforting hand up and down my back.

"I'm sorry." He finally spoke, "I'm sorry I didn't admit to it right away. I just didn't want to speak of it unless you felt the same because I don't know if what I feel is right. I thought maybe it was all in my head...that I only felt that shred of familiarity because in the back of my mind I wanted something to be connected to our past."

"It's okay." I sighed, settling myself deeper into his arms and smiled when he wrapped both arms around me, pulling my tighter to his chest. He then let his right hand slide from by back, over my hip, and down to my knee, grasping it and pulling it higher so that my feet were on the couch beside us.

I tried my best to keep from shivering - or even moaning - as his hands slid down my leg in the most sweetest, most intimate way. When his hand finally reached the ankle strap of my shoe, he gently traced the edges of the shoe were it met my bare foot.

"I never thought I'd see you wearing heels." He said, his voice surprisingly rough, causing a shiver to run up my spine.

"Alice is a tricky one..." I said shakily as his hand began to make its way back up my leg, this time even slower then the last.

"I like them." He said, this time his lips right next to my ear.

"M-Me too..." I stuttered and I would have been surprised by that confession if I didn't already know the reason I said it. It wasn't that I liked the shoes themselves...but how the shoes made Edward react.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that either..." He laughed lightly, then gently began nibbling on my ear.

"I never thought you'd react to them quite like this..." I said, and tried to laugh but the only sound that came out was a gasp when his lips began to make their way down the side of my neck.

That's when I realized exactly what he was doing and it made me love him even more. He was distracting me. Trying to keep me from worrying too much. He was the most amazing person that ever walked the planet and he was all mine. I liked every part of him, even the overprotective side that most girls would hate because they hated seeming incompetent. But I wasn't most girls and I was always fond of the tales with the damsel in distress being rescued by her prince. And with the feeling of his lips on my neck and the protective way his arms held me to him, I couldn't imagine how any girl could reject such an act of love. He was putting me above himself, above everything else for that matter, just so that I wouldn't feel scared or alone. He was my protector, and I'll be damned if I didn't let him protect me...

"I love you Edward." I sighed as I turned my head to press my lips to his.

"I love you too, Isabella."

___________________________

"Isabella Marie Hale!" Alice shrieked as she finally laid her eyes on my face and saw that my make up was completely ruined. Before Emmett and Jasper had gotten back from where ever they were before, I had attempted to fix my make up that had been ruined from me crying and Edward's hands....and Edward's lips. It hadn't worked out very well since all I had in my purse was some chap stick and some mascara. And after I had attempted to apply the mascara, having almost poked my eye out twice, I had been so angry that had just washed off all the make up from my face.

"Alice." Edward growled rather angrily, pulled me behind him. He was still upset about my panic attack earlier and had been way too sweet to me since then. "Now is not the time to be your superficial self!"

Alice recoiled from his comment, looking rather hurt, and instantly Jasper was by her side to stick up for her. But before he could get a word out, Alice saw my puffy red eyes and she gasped.

"Oh, Bella! What happened?" She cried as she ran past Edward to pull me into a hug.

"Nothing, I'm fine now. Really." I said, feeling uncomfortable now that ever pair of eyes were on me.

"No, you are not okay!" Rosalie said rather harshly, probably having expected that I would downplay whatever had happened. "Now tell us what happened!"

I sighed heavily and told them what had happened in probably the worst way I could. "It was nothing, really. I was on the elevator and that gray haired guy that lives on the 22nd floor was there and he asked 'Halloween party?' and I nodded...then he said 'Ironic, huh?' And that was it!" I blurted out quickly as I flailed my arms around adamantly.

"Holy shit!" Alice cried, slapping a hand over her mouth in disbelief. Everyone else just stared at me, speechless as to what to say.

"I know, right?" I said as I laughed awkwardly, trying my best to lighten the mood.

The silence was running on a time span of almost a whole minute as everyone absorbed my very short and to the point story. It was evident in everyone's eyes that they knew who I was talking about and they too felt the same way about him as I do. It was a little scary to know that though, because they had all felt it, yet were too scared to tell anyone, meaning their feeling was pretty strong...

"Wow..." Emmett breathed, as he sat down on the couch beside Rosalie. "This is crazy."

"So I'm guessing you all feel that he looks familiar too?" Edward asked.

Everyone mumbled a yes, confirming my suspicions and sending a shiver down my spine. This was the longest I had ever thought of my past before. Never at one point had I tried to remember, most likely because I was too afraid, and now I was faced with a situation I couldn't ignore. I couldn't just simply forget that there was something going on with the mysterious man that lived on the 22nd floor or the feeling I had that he was connected to our past.

And with all the fearful expressions of my friends around me, I knew they had realized this too. We could no longer ignore the fourteen years of our life that we couldn't seem to remember. We couldn't continue on with our lives like it was perfect, like there weren't things in our past that needed to be revealed and questions about ourselves that needed to be answered. For once we had to face this head on, no matter how frightening it could be, and we just had to realize that no matter what we found out about the past, we would all still be the same and we would all still have each other.

**A/N: K, so my sister is reading each chapter for me...but she isn't giving me any thoughts about it! So guys, really, I'm counting on you to tell me how it was and if you enjoyed it, ANYTHING! ****I really want to make it to 300 total reviews! It's currently at 270...so not much, eh? And I'm trying to get SWCE on a community! But...I have had no such luck. Anyone wanna help? **


	21. Chapter 20: The Look

AN: Sorry for the long wait guys, I had writers block kinda. I have these annual times where I really can't get into the story and it ends up horrible. And I was a little bummed that I only got 14 reviews, but that is okay. I understand that the 'big reveal' is over and that you might not be as commited or excited. I'm the same way, I live for the big moment all is revealed, its just so intense! hehe

Special thanks to my devoted reviewers/readers: **ImagativeRainbowPenguin, Twird96, MelissaRM, Winterwarrior, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, Jazzie-luvs-me-22, Soccer11, Black Moon Falling, 2cool4school, A crystal tear, biteme1993, Little Silver Rose, and bella-cullen1989**. If I missed someone, I'm terribly sorry.

I made a website for all the outfits/images for this story. I didn't describe the outfits very well, but I put them there. The site link is on my profile.

This is the party chapter, and I don't think it will be what you all will expect it to be, so that could either be good or bad. It's 100% fluff, but the next chapter will get back to buisness...kinda. I apologize in advance for any misspells or bad grammar, I'm still holding a grudge against Openoffice! So, ENJOY!

Chapter 20: The Look

**EPOV**

I was past the point of trying to hide anything from Bella anymore. Either I really sucked at hiding things, or she could simply read me like an open book like I could her.

I had tried so hard to make her feel better by not adding my fears and concerns to hers. She just seemed so fragile to me and my instant instinct was to do anything in my power to keep her standing and safe. And if that meant hiding my fears and letting them build inside me, I was going to do it.

You saw how far that got me.

So now all I could do was comfort her now that she knew her suspicions about this man weren't phony. They were all too real and everyone else felt them too. And now I just felt hopeless when I saw the blatant fear and reluctance in her eyes that I couldn't prevent. But inevitably I knew sooner or later she would have figured it out, and it was better for her to know she wasn't alone in her feeling _now _then maybe later when something bigger happened then the man simply implying he knew something about her from her outfit.

That thought sent a shiver up my spine. No matter how much I wanted to convince myself that this could all just be a coincidence, I couldn't ignore the blatant fact that he knew _something _about us.

He didn't know Bella enough to imply that it was ironic because she was as sweet as an angel and I really hope - for his safety of course - that he wasn't hitting on her. If he was, then he'd soon find my foot shove halfway up his--

"Okay, we don't have time to fix your make up--" Alice said, bringing me out of my thoughts and giving Bella an exasperated look. Bella grinned innocently and as soon as Alice looked away, she pumped her fist in the air and hissed a 'yes!'.

"Heard that Bella..." Alice continued in a bored tone without even turning back around to look at her, "So let's just go and worry about this when we get back. Okay?"

Everyone nodded and began heading towards the door, each already in their own costume. I had to hold back laughter every time I even looked at Emmett with his fake beard and Jasper with his leather chaps... I sighed amusedly, rolling my eyes as I stood, slipping the fake black glasses on my nose.

Bella stood too, and I waited for her to strap the wings to her back and put her halo on. I smiled at just how adorable she looked in her outfit and slipped my hand into hers. I pulled it to my lips and kissed the back of it.

"Lets go." I said and began to pull her behind me towards the door but was yanked back when she didn't budge.

Bella looked expectantly at me, her head tilted slightly upward as a small pout began to form on her lips. I couldn't help the rush of joy that shot through me at the sight. It was The Look. The one she had chosen to hint to me whenever she wanted me to kiss her. I would never forget our first kiss and the first time she straight out told me to look for 'the look' when she wanted a kiss.

_It had been a week since our first date and I had invited her over to my apartment for a picnic out on the balcony where we could gaze up at the stars afterwards. The whole occasion was centered mainly around my wanting the perfect moment for our first kiss, something I was too scared to do on any of our other dates. It wasn't that I doubted she wanted to kiss me - no, she had given me plenty of chances to kiss her - I just had my usual doubts. Like, what if I kissed her wrong? What if it was the wrong moment? What if I sneezed?_

_For her health, I hadn't attempted to cook and had just ordered take in. Of course, she had no objection to it. And soon after we had finished eating, we were wrapped in a blanket, her wrapped up in my arms with her head laying on my arm, staring up at the stars. _

_I watched her carefully, as her eyebrows knit together slightly, her tiny little nose scrunching in concentration. At that moment, I had finally realized that I loved her, every little detail of her, and probably had been in love with her for a while and not realized it. And even though the thought had really just now come to me so bluntly for the first time, I couldn't be surprised by it. It was almost as if it was nothing new to me, like there was no beginning to my love for her, it had just always been there._

_"What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly while I gently traced her jaw with my finger, ending at her bottom lip. As the tip of my finger made contact with the edge of her lip, she seemed to snap out of it and her gaze turned to me, her eyes hard and determined. And then there was a hint of...anger?_

_"Wha--" I started to ask, not understanding why she would be angry with me. But before I could continue, she had grasped each side of my face and pulled it to hers, catching my lips with her own._

_There was no time wasted in hesitation as I responded instantly, the feeling of her lips on mine causing me to forget everything else. And as her perfect, soft lips gently stroked mine, I wondered to myself why I was ever scared of this moment in the first place. It felt so natural._

_I soon found myself getting carried away as my hand instantly grasped her slender waist, pulling her closer as I let my tongue graze over her bottom lip. And just as soon as her lips parted to give me entrance, she pulled back quickly, pushing my hand off of her waist._

_I was shocked to say the least, and instantly reeled back, not wanting to touch her if she didn't want me to - which she obviously didn't. "I-I'm...s-sorry!" I stuttered out._

_And then she hit me. Not in the face though, as I would have expected...had I even expected her to hit me at all... No, she punched me rather hard on the fore arm, causing me to gasp and clutch my arm._

_"Yeah, you should me sorry!" She growled, but I could tell by her voice that she really wasn't angry but....annoyed? None the less, I flinched back by her words, and opened my mouth to apologize again but her hand shot up to silence me._

_"Look at me!" She said as she grasped each side of my face, turning my head towards her. "What took you so long!?"_

_And then came the sigh of relief, one that literally left my body relaxing to the point of immobility. I hadn't done anything wrong with the kiss, other then the timing, which was obviously past its due. I chuckled, caught by surprise once again by her. She never seemed to think or do the things I expected her to do..._

_"Okay! Now you see here?" She continued, pulling one hand away from my face to point at her own. "See this face? This means I want you to kiss me! Okay?"_

_And just by watching her make that adorable face, my love for her grew even more. I watched adoringly as her head tilted upwards to where she was gazing at me from over her nose, her full lips pulled together in a seductive yet innocent pout and her eyebrows pull together slightly._

_"And obviously, the next time I make this face you will be above me so that you don't see straight up my nose..." She said, so seriously I couldn't help but laugh at her. She really was one of a kind..._

_"So do you understand, Mr. I-Take-Too-Long-To-Kiss-My-Girlfriend?" She said, pushing my cheeks together with her hands, causing her to giggle when my lips turned in a weird shape._

_"Yeth." I said, causing her to giggle again in satisfaction for having messed up my speech. _

_"Good!" She giggled, then bent forward to give me an Eskimo kiss while still smashing my cheeks together with her hands. I growled playfully, then jumped her, causing her to fall back onto the blanket with me on top of her. We then started where we left off before she hit me..._

"Well?" Bella said impatiently.

I grinned down at her as I took her face in my hands and ever so gently placed my lips over hers. She huffed angrily, her breath blowing out over my face, and grasped the back of my neck, roughly pulling my lips harder to hers. And that was all the encouragement I needed to tangle one hand in her hair and the other on her lower back, pulling her closer to me.

"Ugh! Guys! Can't you wait until we get back!" Alice's voice whined from behind us.

"Yeah, yeah..."I sighed angrily, really getting tired of being interrupted while I kissed my girlfriend. Once we made it to the hallway and had locked the apartment door, we had to make a run for the elevator that Emmett was holding open with his cane.

_Wait, what?_

Once we were in the elevator and the doors had shut, I turned to Emmett curiously as he stood ramrod straight, both hands resting on top of a black cane. I would have thought nothing of it...that is if I hadn't seen the glass crystal ball that was attached to the top, peeking out from underneath his meaty hands.

"Uh, Emmett?" I asked, "Why the hell do you have a cane?"

"Why the hell not?" Emmett replied back, quirking an eyebrow at me and pulling Rosalie to his side possessively.

"You're Abraham Lincoln..." Bella added in as she stared at him incredulously.

"So? I'm pimpin' Abraham Lincoln!"

Bella and I shared a look then shook our heads in disbelief at him. I sighed and wound my arms around Bella's waist from behind as I rested against the back wall of the elevator.

"Can I see it?" Alice asked in a small voice as she stared intently at it.

Emmett whipped the cane away from her reach quickly and stared down at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy, pixie!? No one touches the stick!" He bellowed, then pause and turned to Rosalie with an evil grin. "Except Rosalie!"

"Ahh!" Alice and Bella both screeched in unison. Bella clapped her hands over her ears and hid her face in my chest as she stomped her feet frantically.

The car ride to the party started out loud because everyone was excited about the party, but as we got closer and closer to the small house that was on the edge of the city, it started to grow quiet. It was impossible not to notice how suddenly everyone was extremely nervous - including myself.

At the beginning of the ride Bella had joined in on the boisterous conversation but now that we were only five minutes away from our destination, she now sat in my lap quietly as she chewed on her thumb nail.

The clear reason for our sudden change of mood was that none of us had been to a real party since we had never been through that faze in high school since we were so focused on staying neutral with all our school acquaintances. And though we had never been to a real party, we knew vaguely what it was consisted of.

And when we pulled up to the small house I began to regret ever agreeing to let Bella come here. It was, to put it lightly, complete chaos. All of the lights inside the small house were alight, showing the figures that moved around inside. Some people were congregated outside dancing - if thats what you could even call it - while others were horsing around clumsily.

Bella groaned from her place in my lap as she frowned at the scene in front of her. I felt myself tense as I saw two guys start to fight, throwing punched and wrestling each other to the ground.

"Well..." Alice said, her voice slightly disappointed. "This wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be. How is this suppose to be fun again?"

"I was thinking the same thing..." Bella said as we all climbed out of the jeep. Emmett didn't seem so put out, as he had a huge grin plastered on his face. Jasper looked as if he was in pain as he clutched little Alice to his side, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.

Cautiously, we made our way through the chaos to the front door, our significant other attached to us by the waist. We made it past the front door and into a small entry way that held a winding staircase that was packed full of people either standing on the steps or coming up and down.

"Bella..." I said tensely, as I grasped her face in my hands. She looked completely overwhelmed and I couldn't even take the time to help her relax because I was working just as hard to rain in my anxiety. "You stay right here, okay? Jasper, Emmett and I are going to see if we can find something to drink. That is if there's anything _without _alcohol in it... Do _not go _off by yourself, do you hear me? If you go anywhere, you bring one of us guys or Rosalie and Alice, okay?"

And though I could see in her eyes that she read my warning loud and clear - and maybe even agreed with my safety precaution - she still rolled her eyes at me. "Edward...Did you forget that I'm not a fragile little human?"

Before she could even finished what she was saying, I was already shaking my head in disagreement. "I don't care." I stated simply. "You don't leave my sight for the rest of the night unless I know you're with a buddy, you understand?"

"Whatever." She grumbled, but pouted in request for a kiss. I chuckled and pecked her on the lips.

I nodded my head toward what I assumed was the kitchen, and Emmett and Jasper followed behind me as I twisted and squirmed through the packed bodies. And as I searched through the ice buckets full of beer, I had to keep the side of me down that kept begging me to ask Bella to dance.

I had seen what 'dancing' meant to these people, and quite frankly I respected Bella too much to violate her like that - especially in public. No matter how tempting the thought of holding her that close to me was.

**BPOV**

I watched in slight panic as Edward's messy brown head of hair disappeared behind the mass of bodies. Although I knew I could take care of myself if a certain situation arised, I not only needed him for added protection, but for emotional support.

I had never in my life felt more out of place then I did at this moment. And for me, that was a hard thing to do.

I knew, that when Alice had asked - or better yet, commanded - me to come to this party, this was exactly what it was going to be like. But silly Bella had to ignore the logical side of herself and imagine the party to be full of board games, candied brains and scary movies.

_I mean, really Bella, what the hell were you thinking? _I scowled myself as I watched the couples only a few yards in from of me 'dance' to the loud music that came from the giant speakers in the living room. Dancing was a loose term for it though. I, personally, would have called it dry humping...

And from what I could see, the only candied brains in sight were that of the wasted guests who could barely stand straight without the aid of a friend.

Not only was I caught of guard because of my denial as to how the party really was going to be like, I had failed to realize that this was indeed my very first party, ever. Hints why I thought we'd be watching scary movies while pigging out on candy...

All during our high school years we had pretty much kept to ourselves, being named the school loners. So because of that we were rarely invited to parties. And even if the occasional soul would take pity on us and invite us to their lame party, we would kindly decline. Now I was kind of glad we decline all our invites. I shuddered at the thought of going to a party like this in the eighth grade - grinding, groping, spin the bottle, and seven minutes in heaven. Ew.

"This is..." Rosalie began as she stared apprehensively into the crowd in front of us.

"Revolting?" Alice supplied.

"Disturbing?" I piped in.

"Degrading?"

"Just plain nasty?"

"Actually...I was just gonna say gross, but those words are fitting too." Rose laughed shakily.

"Have these women no decency!?" Alice cried as she watched a group of girls walk by.

That was another thing I had failed to forget. To certain girls, Halloween was a holiday that gave them an excuse to show as much skin as possible. If I wanted to see so much of another girls anatomy, I'd just find Emmett's secret stash of playboys...

"You know," Alice sighed disappointedly, "I've seen this kind of dancing before on TV and in movies, but seeing it now in person? It's even worse! It's like watching soft porn come alive right in front of your eyes!" By the end of her little rant her voice had taken on a hysterical tone as her eyes darted around to all the swaying bodies.

"I swear if Emmett even tries to convince me--" Rose started to say, but was cut off as Emmett's arms wound around her from behind.

"I would never ask you to dance like that, Rosie. Give me some credit." Emmett spoke sweetly into her ear, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.

I then felt familiar hands grasp my waist and I peeked over my shoulder to see Edward staring at the wings that were strapped to my back, a look of pure concentration on his face.

"Edward?" I giggled.

"I don't like these things." He growled playfully as he let go of my waist and gave my wings a good swat before making his way in front of me. "How am I suppose to hold you with those strapped to your back?"

"I can take them off..." I laughed as I pulled the strings on the bows at the top of my shoulders. I caught it before it could hit the ground, then smile up at Edward. "Now I'm an angel with no wings."

"No." Edward said as he pulled me into his arms, his hands crawling their way up my back until they reached between my shoulder blades. "You're an angel with hidden wings."

He then leaned forward and gently kissed me. I expected him to pull away, but giggled when he groaned in frustration and deepened the kiss, pulling my bottom lip into his mouth.

"I'm guessing you didn't find anything to drink?" I asked breathlessly once he had pulled back and rested his fore head against mine.

"Nope. Everything had alcohol in it."

"They didn't even have punch?"

"They did, but I wasn't completely sure that it wasn't spiked...so I didn't want to take the chance."

I sighed as Edward turned me in his embrace to join our friends in an awkward silence -though it was anything but quiet, what with the loud music coursing through the entire house. I knew that from an outsiders point of view, we would all have a deer-in-the-headlights look on our faces. We were just so out of our element.

"Okay!" Alice chirped, pulling herself out of Jasper's arms to rummage through her purse. "I can see that this isn't going to be the big, great party I thought it was going to be, so how about we play a little game, then get out of here?" She then pulled out three tubes of lipstick, grinning at us as she handed one to Rosalie and I.

"Okay guys," Alice started as we all huttled around to hear about her little game, "this is how it's going to go down. We break into three teams - Me/Jazz, Emmett/Rose, Edward/Bella - and we each have a tube of lipstick. The team who can mark as many wasted people's face wins. Rules are as follows: If they go to wipe it off, it doesn't count. It doesn't matter how much you mark, just has to be at least longer then an inch. If they are really zonked out, you can draw stuff and maybe even put it on their lips - that's an extra point. In twenty minutes, we will all meet back at the front door to see who wins and don't even bother giving me these back. I don't think Jazz or I would enjoy contracting herpes."

I felt Edward stiffen slight behind me as he gazed over my shoulder at the stick of lipstick in my hand. I instantly knew what he was worried about, and I would be too if I hadn't taken the time to really analyze the crowd. It was only ten o'clock and almost everyone at the party was already drunk or on the verge of passing out.

"Ali...I don't know about this." Edward sighed hesitantly.

"Edward, take a look around." Alice said, "They are all out of it. Let us just have a little fun at their expense and then we can get out of here."

"Well...what do we get if we win?" Rosalie asked.

"Hmm...good question." Alice mused as she tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Oh! I got it. We will have a triple date and whichever team wins gets to decided what we do!"

"Chyeah!" Emmett cheered, looking smug as if he knew for a fact he was going to win.

"We can _not _him win." Edward whispered in my ear, and even though it was meant to be an innocent act, it still gave me goose bumps. I simply nodded in response and handed him the lipstick.

"Okay, lets go!" Rosalie grinned as she grabbed Emmett hand to leave.

"Wait!" Alice cried, "One more thing. Do not even think about cheating. Make sure to count correctly-" She gave a knowing look to Emmett who looked as if he wasn't sure if he was being accused or insulted, "- and be honest! Now let the games begin!" Alice squealed as she grabbed Jasper's hand and danced over to the large group that was hanging out in the kitchen.

"Bella, do no-" Edward started to say, but I cut him off.

"I know, I know! Don't go off by myself, don't do anything stupid, don't look anyone dead in the eyes, don't look more cute then I have to, and don't trip. Did I cover everything?"

"Hmm, yeah, that seems about it." Edward rolled his eyes playfully at me then grabbed my hand and began pulling me towards the foyer.

I watched anxiously as he dropped my hand and slowly pulled the cap off the lipstick and twisted the bottom. Out from the top came a rather bold shade of red lipstick.

"Who shall be our first victim." Edward mused quietly to himself, and I watch amusedly as his eyes narrowed and his lips quirked in a mischievous way.

Then his eyes seemed to darken in disgust as his gaze fell upon someone in the crowd. He then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the doorway of another room that appeared to be the dining room.

That's when I saw who he was aiming for. There in the doorway was a short man that had a girl pinned to the doorway as his hands fumbled around her body. At first I was hesitant because he didn't seem very out of it, but then I saw him sway slightly and grab onto the girl to keep his balance, I felt more at ease.

I stayed latched to Edward's hand as he simply walked by the couple, stretched his hand out to swiped the lipstick from the woman's cheek and onto the man's and kept walking.

I couldn't help but giggle as I watched both of them still going at it, having not noticed the lipstick being dragged across their faces.

We continued on like this, Edward dragging me behind him as he quickly swiped the lipstick across peoples faces and me making sure that they didn't notice. About ten minutes later and we had finished the foyer and dining room and were making our way up the stairs. I had counted a total of thirty-five people.

"My turn!" I giggled, really enjoying watching Edward do such a ridiculous thing with such a look of seriousness on his face. But my giggle soon died when he turned around to look at me with a disapproving expression.

"Bella, just let me handle this, I don't want you ge-" He started to say, but I cut him off once again by ripping my hand out of his grasp and snatching the lipstick away from him.

"Edward! I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself! Now stay close and watch how it's done." I said, and eyed him closely, daring him with my eyes to argue with me.

I watched as his eyes grew hard and angry, his jaw clinching as he nodded his head tersely. Without taking notice to the fact that I had really made him angry, I grabbed his hand and continued up the stairs.

I passed a few closed doors, ones that I assumed were either locked because they were occupied - shudder - or because Ashley didn't want anyone in there, and made it to the end of the hall that opened up to what appeared to be a large game room.

I scanned the crowd for a moment, but was satisfied when my eyes landed on a man who sat on a small recliner, watching as the women around him walked by. I quickly gave Edward a look that clearly said _behave _dropped his hand and made my way over to the man, Edward walking closely behind me the whole way.

"Hi!" I spoke sweetly, my hands clasped behind me as I smiled down at the man. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw me, and I didn't overlook the once over he gave me with hungry eyes.

"Well hi there." He slurred and grinned at me, but it faltered slightly when he looked over my shoulder, no doubt getting glared at by Edward.

I chuckled, having already decided what I was going to say, and sat down on the arm of the chair beside him, making sure to keep as much distance between us as possible. "Do you want a face painting?" I said, smiling innocently down at him as I displayed the tube of lipstick in my hand.

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing as he tried to focus his eyes on the small object I held in my hand. He was clearly having a hard time comprehending exactly what I was saying and identifying what I was holding.

"So?"

"Uhh..." He hesitated, his mouth hanging open as he continued to stare at my hand. "S-Sure?"

"Yay!" I squealed excitedly and turned slightly in my seat towards him. Surprisingly, he scooted forward in his seat enough so that I could reach his face better, and closed his eyes as he tilted his head back.

I got to work quickly, sliding the lipstick over his skin. I drew two half triangles over his eyebrows, which looked like horns, fangs right under his lips and a Hitler mustache right under his nose. While in the process of finishing his mustache, he began to sway slightly in his seat and then grabbed onto my thigh for support.

I yelped in surprise as I felt his sticky hand grab onto me tightly and dropped the lipstick as I tried to push his hand away. Edward was instantly at my side, grabbing me around the waist and placing me on my feet behind him.

Fortunately, when Edward turned back around to the man, he was already slumped over the arm of the chair, snoring lightly as drool began to drip from his agape mouth.

**EPOV**

I had been tense the whole time I was walking through the house marking people faces. It was by far the strangest yet oddly enjoyable thing I had ever done. And it would have even been even more enjoyable had I not been busy bracing myself for the moment Bella would ask to have her turn.

I had already come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to back down when she asked. I was going to look her straight in the face, tell her _no _and she would just have to deal with it. And I was almost sure that she would understand that I was just trying to keep her safe, but Bella was too stubborn to ever see things clearly.

And then when she had snatched it away from me, her face annoyed and her eyes unrelenting, I knew there was nothing I could do. Yeah, I could have easily wrestled the lipstick back from her, but I really didn't want to spend the rest of the night with her pissed off at me.

And I had thought I was tense when _I _was dragging her behind me while I did the dirty work, it was even worse when I watched her tiny form walking by the drunken men whose heads seems to swivel her way like a magnet. I literally had to grit my teeth and remind myself that she wasn't as fragile as I used to think she was so that I wouldn't loose my cool, throw her over my shoulder and head straight for the jeep.

And just when I thought I was doing well in keeping my cool while watching Bella mark all over a drunken man's face, he had to go and grab her like she was some random drunken bimbo at this lame party. That sight was my breaking point.

But of course, I wasn't given the satisfaction of punching a whole in the guys face because the pathetic little weasel had passed out on me. Now how was I going to release all this pent up anger and tension? Would it really matter all that much if he was unconscious for the beating?

Wow, I really needed to get out of here. This party was not doing good things for my nerves or my common sense.

"What did I tell you?" I asked angrily to Bella, who rolled her eyes and walked past me to pick up the discarded lipstick.

"Calm down, Edward. He didn't mean to. He was just trying to stay up right, hints why he is passed out now..." She said, but I wasn't in the least satisfied. I growled in frustration - both at the man for touching her and passing out on me before he could get what he deserved and Bella for being so nonchalant about the whole ordeal - and grabbed Bella around the waist, pulling her onto my lap on a nearby couch.

"Edward, I'm fine!" Bella growled and tried to pry my hands from their inspection of her leg.

"Bella, humor me." I said, and almost sighed in relief when she relaxed in my hold. After I was done, having noticed no damage had been done, I opted to mess with her a little. So I pushed my hand a little higher, pushing the hem of her dress along with it, and pinched her lightly on her inner thigh. She shrieked in surprise, her body caving in as she pushed my hand away.

"Edward!" She scowled disapprovingly.

"Yes?" I asked innocently, breaking out the doe eyes and the crooked grin she loved so much.

She just shook her head at me, then started to move my hair away from where it fell on my forehead. "Be still." She said, and before I could realize what exactly she was doing, she had the lipstick against my forehead, drawing something as a sly grin spread across her face.

"Bella! What do you think you're doing!?" I asked, shocked by her action.

She didn't answer right away, but once she was done, she pulled away to admire her work, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in the most adorable way. "Marking my territory." She replied matter-of-factly, "I wrote my name on your forehead."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the way she said this, as if it was the most normal thing to do - writing your name on your boyfriend's face with lipstick.

"Well, do I get to do the same?" I inquired as my hand reached up to itch at my lipstick covered forehead.

"No!" Bella cried as she caught my hand before I could touch it. "You can't touch it, or else it doesn't count as a point! And yes, you may."

I grinned wickedly, proud of her smart thinking that would inevitably win us the game and at the chance I got to mark Bella as mine. I excitedly took the lipstick from her hand and started. First came the 'Ed' which I placed on her forehead. Then the 'W' went on her right cheek. The 'A' I wrote across her nose, the two legs on each side, connecting in between her eyes and the bridge going over the middle of her nose. Next came the 'R' which was on her left cheek, then the 'D' I wrote really small on her chin.

"Why do you have to have such a long ass name!?" Bella growled teasingly, as she mock glared up at me.

"Sorry, love." I chuckled, and quickly glanced at my watch to see that our time was up. "Time to go win us the game and start planning that triple date."

When we made it back to the foyer, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose had already beat us there, and I instantly felt my face heat up when Emmett saw my face and began to laugh uncontrollably. But before he could start his teasing, Alice shrieked in horror as her eyes met Bella's face.

"Bella!? What the hell happened to your face!?" She cried.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Bella asked innocently.

"Hey! That does _not_ count as a point!" Jasper said, pointing at Bella and mine's face.

"Actually, yes it does. She said it counted as long as the person didn't try to rub it off, and clearly we haven't." I stated, grinning smugly at Emmett who was glaring at me.

Alice's eyes widened and she squealed in excitement as she opened her tube of lipstick again. She then reached up to Jasper and began to write on his face - surprisingly he didn't complain.

"Wai-" Bella started to say, obviously realizing that the game was already over and that it didn't count, but I quickly placed my hand over her mouth and shook my head. When I removed my hand, she smiled amusedly up at me.

"Emmett!" Rose cried, quickly pulling the cap off of her lipstick.

"No!" Emmett shook his head furiously as he took a step back from Rosalie, "You are not writing on my face!"

"Emmett." Rosalie growled, and even I was a little fearful of her tone of voice. "Bend. Over."

Emmett's eyebrows shot up at her command, and I groaned, knowing exactly how Emmett would take that command.

"Yes, _ma'am_." Emmett purred, then proceeded to turn around and bend over.

"Emmett!" Rosalie scowled, slapping his ass as hard as she could.

Emmett cried out in pain, clutching his ass as he stomped his feet. And just when I thought it was over, I watched as Emmett stopped squirming in pain, huffed a sigh of relief and proceeded to bend over again. "Do it again, Rosie." He chuckled.

"You're hopeless!" Rosalie cried, throwing her hands up in defeat. "We just might lose now because you can't man up!"

"How is putting lipstick on my face manning up?" Emmett asked incredulously.

"Well, it wo--" Rosalie started to argue back, but I cut them off.

"Hey! It doesn't matter, because the game ended as soon as we met here, so it wouldn't count anyways." I said, then glanced over at Alice to see her face completely blank, her mouth open in shock and the name 'Jasper' written on her face in bright purple lipstick.

"_Now_ you tell me?!" She shrieked as she pointed at her face. "_Now_ that I have lipstick all over my face!?"

"Well Edward and I didn't want to feel left out..." Bella said, shrugging her shoulders casually.

Alice shrieked in fury again, stomping her feat angrily. Jasper sighed and wound his arms around her waist from behind, whispering soothingly words into her ear. "Shh, baby, it's fine." He said, "We are just going to head back to the apartment anyways, you can wash it off as soon as we get back." I watched in amazement as all signs of anger vanished from Alice's face and she sighed, leaning back in his embrace.

"Can we get this over with? This music is giving me a head ache." Rosalie sighed as she began to rub her temples. Emmett watched her worriedly, then began to rub her shoulders affectionately.

"Okay. Jazz and I got thirty-two!" Alice cheered.

"Ha!" Emmett scoffed, "We got thirty-four!"

Bella and I shared a calm look, then a grin broke out on both of our faces. "Thirty-six." We said in unison.

_Well it looks like we have a dinner to plan_, I thought to myself with a grin as I watched our friends complain about losing. Maybe this whole party wasn't a _complete _waste of time. Maybe I could even "accidentally" run into Mike while Bella had my name written on her face...

* * *

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	22. Chapter 21: Shark Bait

**AN: Sorry for the long wait! In the words of my dear sister, I made this chapter a "loooong ass chapie". By the time I had gotten to my point... it was really long and I didn't want to delete anythign! So I really hope you guys don't think its too long...I know I sometimes hate really long chaps...so after you're done, maybe review and tell me if this was okay?**

**Just so you'll know, Jemward will still be in the story but he wont be mentioned a lot unless I decide to. So if he isn't mention for a while he's still actually there...just wandering around the apartment doing puppy things...haha. So, if you want more Jem, tell me in ur review?**

**All the clothes in this chapter will be on my website, link on profile. Sorry in advance if I really suck at clothes description or even picking of clothes! I'm no fashionista!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Hot Rod :)**

Chapter 21: Shark Bait

**BPOV**

The few weeks that followed the disastrous Halloween party were a little tense. When we weren't preoccupied by each other, have it be by Emmett's usual antics or little silly arguments we would get into with each other, we were constantly walking on egg shells around each other. So if we were given but a moment to be alone with our thoughts, the atmosphere would turn tense because all our thoughts would turn to one person; the unknown man who lived on the twenty-second floor.

To put it quite simply, every single one of us was avoiding the subject and were busy worrying about worrying our significant other on the subject. Unfortunately, I am guilty of doing that myself, even though I know Edward is a big boy and can handle this.

I just hated that this whole thing made him worry about me way more then he should. And even now that I think about it, why was I avoiding it? Edward was a worrier. That's what he did best - worry about me. Most likely he was already worrying himself to physical pain - I've actually been guilty of that myself too... -, so what's the harm in talking about it?

But then when I thought about the actual act of bringing it up in a conversation, I got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't ready. I was no where near it. I was surprised I hadn't broken down into a panic attack yet. This was something big and I just knew we had to face it sometime. We couldn't continue to push it under the rug like we did when we wondered why we couldn't remember so much of our lives.

So how do you ready yourself for such a big step? How do you prepare yourself to walk into a situation that had something to do with the forgotten fourteen years of your life, completely blind? And that's what we would be - blind. We had no idea what our past was like, no idea if this man was good or bad, no idea where to even start or even what we were going up against.

I groan and began to rub my temples as the nauseous feeling in my stomach began to get worse. I was a wuss. That was the bottom line. I was actually getting sick by just the thought of the whole situation. And I was just now finally able to admit to myself that I was simply scared out of my mind.

As if I'd let anyone else know that though...

I sighed and began to stack up the scattered papers from my bed that I had been trying to work on for work. The key word there would be _trying_, because I wasn't succeeding.

Then without warning, the bed shook violent, causing me to teeter in my seat, as a body bounce on the opposite end. I gasped in surprise at the suddenness of it but settled down as soon as I saw Rosalie lying across the bottom of my bed, her head resting in her hand, looking as if she was posing for a photo shoot.

"Oh, hey Rose." I said quietly, continuing to organize my papers. After a few moment with no reply from her, I looked up to see her watching me closely, her eyes squinted and her eyebrows pulled together.

"I heard you from my room, sighing, moaning and groan. Obviously it was not in the dirty way ..." She finally said, "So what are you worrying your pretty little head about now?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" I asked, shaking my head in frustration. I really didn't want to have to say it out loud. Hell, I couldn't even_ think _it without getting queasy, I could only imagine how it'd be if I spoke it.

"Ahhh... I see..." Rosalie hummed as she nodded her head in understanding and I blew out a breath of relief, glad that I wouldn't have to tell her. "You're not getting any. Sexually frustrated?"

I nodded my head absently, but then I actually heard what she said and gasped. "No! What!? Rose! That's not it!" I cried and then surprised myself when I began to giggle profusely.

"Rosalie!" I shrieked again in between laughs at her giggling form. I swatted her with the paper I held in my hand, then placed them on my bedside table.

"Sorry, sorry!" Rosalie laughed, but then her expression turned serious and she looked up at me with true worry in her eyes. "I'm scared too."

I was shocked, to say the least, that she got me so well and that Rosalie had actually admitted this to me. She was like me in that way - not wanting other people to know about your vulnerabilities or that you were being weak. And right now I was thankful that she let her guard down. She was showing me that I wasn't alone and that she loved me enough to show her own weakness so that we could work with it together.

"I think everyone is, Bella." Rosalie continued, sitting up so that she sat cross legged in front of me. "But we can't keep avoiding it. And we can only stay strong if we realize that we aren't alone in this. We have to handle this head on and hold onto each other the whole way. If we don't then we wont make it."

I nodded my head solemnly, hearing my exact thoughts coming from Rose. It seemed as if we all knew what had to be done, but none of us wanted to take the first step. And when was a better time to get it all out in the open then tonight at our triple date? Of course we would have to wait until after, mostly because I wasn't going to spend so much time cooking just to ruin everyone appetite by bringing the subject up.

I sighed heavily and looked up to Rose with a meaningful look. I wanted her to help me bring it up with everyone else. This had to be dealt with and I needed someone by my side to support me if I was going to make this happen.

Thankfully Rosalie read my confident demeanor perfectly, and smiled in response. "I got your back, sista." She giggled, then flopped onto her side with her legs still crossed.

We giggled for a while and started discussing what we wanted to cook for dinner tonight until Rosalie placed a finger over her lips to silence us both. Rosalie's eyes wondered to the comforter as she cocked her head to the side, listening to something in another apartment. I did the same and instantly heard the whispering from Alice's apartment.

I couldn't quite make out what was being said, since her apartment was on the other side of the building near the stairs that lead to the roof, but I knew from whom the whispers came. Edward and Emmett.

I had forgotten that they were hanging out there since Rosalie and I were both busy with some work we had brought home and Alice and Jasper were both at work. How I could have forgotten, I will never know. All three of the guys practically lived up here, only ever going back to their place to sleep or clean up. It was a wonder why we never officially asked them to move in in with us. It wasn't like we didn't have the extra space...

"Let's go see what they are whispering about." Rosalie grinned and soundlessly jumped off of the bed, landing on her feet with a soft thud. She then tucked in her wings and began to pad her way to my front door, me not too far behind but working a little harder than her to keep my footsteps silent _and _steady.

"What are you guys whispering about in here?" Rosalie said loudly once we had made it through Alice's front door and into her living room. We had snuck all the way here and they were still whispering by the time we got there.

They both jumped, obviously startled by our presence, and looked to us with cautious expressions. I eyed Edward who was smiling innocently at me and jumped onto the back of the couch that was across from where they sat, perching myself there and using my wings to balance me.

"That is _so _hot." Emmett gushed as he watched Rosalie saunter farther into the room and sit in front of me on the couch. She then pushed her back into the couch cushion behind her, rocking the whole couch and causing me to loose my balance. I squealed in surprise and flapped my wings a few time, pushing myself up into the air a few feet then forward until I fell onto the couch beside her.

"What was hot, Emmett?" Rosalie continued with a chuckle for almost causing me to fall and what Emmett had said.

"That you could hear us whispering! Where were you? Your own apartment?"

"Nope. We were actually in Bella's apartment." Rosalie laughed.

"I repeat, _so _hot!" Emmett sighed, shaking his head as he started adoringly at Rosalie. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"So what were you guys whispering about? Hmm?" Rosalie asked suspiciously as she cocked an eyebrow at them. "It was obviously something you didn't want us to hear, otherwise you wouldn't have been whispering since we were on the other side of the building..."

"Rose." I whispered desperately, having notice Edward was shifting uncomfortably in his seat and seemed to be getting annoyed by Rosalie. "If they wanted to keep it from us, don't you think we shouldn't ask? Give them their privacy?"

I frowned over at Edward, meaning it as a _sorry Rosalie is being a nosy bitch _smile, but he obviously didn't take it the way I thought he would. "No, we can tell you." Edward said sharply nodding his head, "I'm not keeping anything from you Bella."

"Edward, I didn't mean it li-" I sighed but was cut off by Rosalie who was growing impatient. All the gratitude I was feeling toward Rosalie for helping me earlier was now officially gone. She was back her usual antics and this was the part of her that didn't like things to be kept from her. I figure that had to do a big part with us losing our memories, ones she didn't ask to be taken away.

"So?" Rosalie urged.

"We were whispering about what we were going to propose at dinner tonight. So you will just have to wait until then, wont you Rose?" Emmett countered, and I felt like giving him a pat on the back for not backing down from Rosalie.

I bit my lip in order to keep from laughing as Rosalie literally turned red with anger as she glared at Emmett, who didn't seemed fazed by her gaze at all. But then he smirked at her, showing her his adorable dimples, and her glare had immediately disappeared, though she hadn't smiled. That's when I got a bit confused...

Emmett then took his hand and tried to run it through his hair, which was too short to do so, and whipped his head around as if to shake his hair about in the nonexistent wind. He then proceeded to let his mouth hang open in what I assumed was a sexy pout while he batted his eyelashes and his head swayed from side to side in a hypnotic way.

Before he had even gotten to the eye batting Rosalie was already in stitches, clutching her stomach and kick her feet wildly as she tried to contain her laughter.

"Did I miss something?" I asked as I switched my gaze to Emmett, who was now laughing along with Rosalie.

"I must have too." Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair as he watched Emmett attempt to repeat what he had done while he laughed uncontrollably. Rosalie and Emmett must have been paying more attention to Edward then I thought, because at the sight of him running his hand through his hair they began to laugh even harder and Rosalie even pointed at him.

That's when I finally got what Emmett was doing. "Rosalie, Emmett - that's so mean!" I hissed as I slapped Rosalie in the arm. That only made them laugh even harder, either because I got angry or the fact that I had realized they were making fun of Edward.

"What!?" Edward cried, "You get it now!?"

"Unfortunately, I do." I sighed, jumping up from my seat when I had glanced at the clock that sat above the fire place. Alice was about to be home from work and we were kicking the guys out so that we could start to get ready for the dinner.

"Time for you guys to go." I said, swinging my arms in the direction of the front door. "Alice will be home any minute now and we need to get ready and start cooking dinner."

"Aw." Emmett whined as he lazily pulled himself up from the couch. "Can't I help you cook?"

"So you can eat the food before it even gets to the table? I don't think so." I laughed.

"I feel so left out." Edward pouted as he pulled me into his arms once Rosalie and Emmett had left. He then bent forward and placed his pouty lips on mine.

"It's okay, you wouldn't want to know anyways." I said against his lips in a baby voice. He growled loudly in frustration, causing me to giggle and shiver at the same time, and started to nibble on my bottom lip.

"Edward! Don't you even think sucking off Bella's face will let you stay here when I don't get to!" Emmett yelled from the hallway.

"I'll be back at 7:30 sharp." Edward sighed, giving me one more kiss before he left.

* * *

Just a few minutes after Edward and Emmett had left, Alice came bounding out of the elevator with shopping bags hanging from her fingertips and a smile etched on her face. She had been excited about this dinner for a while, even though if it was her choice we would be going out to some fancy restaurant downtown. I don't think she was as excited for the dinner itself but of the occasion that gave her the excuse to dress up.

It wasn't suppose to be a fancy dinner, just me cooking some Parmesan chicken for everyone and then maybe watching a movie afterwards. But it was a dinner date none the less and Alice had ordered everyone to look their best.

At around 7 o'clock we had all finished getting ready and were now working on the dinner, being especially careful not to get anything on our new clothes.

Alice had bought all of us new outfits for the date, having already set them aside to buy after she had got off work. She had sheepishly admitted that she took all of her fifteen minute breaks to choose the perfect dress for each of us.

She had gotten Rosalie a baby doll black and floral spaghetti strap dress that ended right above the knee. For herself, she got a very cute teal empire waisted tank dress that fit her personality well. And for me, I got a gray baby doll dress that had black paint splatter trimming. It had a zipper running down the center of the bust and it came a few inches above the knee. Overall I thought we all looked pretty nice and I was thankful that Alice hadn't gone all out on my outfit and had enough common sense not to buy us all shoes since we were just staying in the apartment.

"I smell food!" I heard a loud voice from the doorway as I stood beside Alice at the kitchen table, both of us busy chopping veggies for the salad.

"Wow, Emmett, you are so observant." Rosalie chuckled from the dining room where she was placing the plates and silverware at each seat. The next moment, a large arm covered in a gray long sleeved shirt reach in between Alice and I and grabbed a sliced carrot.

"Emmett!" Alice complained as she turned to glare at him, her knife held threateningly up in the air. "You're in here not three seconds and you're already grabbing food before its ready!?"

Emmett just smirked down at Alice, ignoring her comment as he took another loud chomp of his piece of carrot and turned to me. "You let the pixie chop stuff? She can barely see over the counter."

Alice gasped dramatically then fixed her grip on the knife so the when she held up her fist it was pointing directly at his chest, then began to make stabbing motions in the air while making an "eh, eh, eh" sound.

"Jasper!" Emmett cried as he back away from Alice with a feigned frighten expression. "Your crazy girlfriend is trying to stab me!"

"Get 'em honey!" Jasper chuckled as he walked through the front door followed by Edward. "Put a little more elbow into it."

"What!?" Emmett bellowed, staring disbelieving at Jasper. "You'd sit there and watch your brother get stabbed to death by a gnome!?"

"If it even got so far as death I would be so embarrassed by you that I'd just let it happen." Jasper laughed as he walked over to Alice to give her a kiss on the cheek while she stood with her head held high and a smug smile on her face.

"Edward?" Emmett asked as he watched Edward walk through the kitchen over to me. He put an arm around my waist, careful to avoid the knife I held in my hand, and kissed me on the cheek before whispering, "You look beautiful" into my ear.

"Sorry, Emmett." Edward replied with a chuckle. "I gotta agree with Jazz. If you let her even get one stab in, it was your fate."

"Where is the love!?" Emmett frowned, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Rosie!?" He then called out to her, "Would you defend me?"

Rosalie then came into the kitchen from the dining room with an amused smile on her face. "Of course I would." Rosalie replied in a baby voice as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Someone has to protect you from four foot eleven women who probably weigh a third of your weight."

"See." Emmett smiled victoriously, "Someone here loves me."

A few minutes later and the timer on the stove went off and everyone made their way to the dining room to get served, all except Edward who decided to help me serve everyone. Dinner passed by quickly, mostly because the conversation was light and very entertaining, and we eventually made it to desert which was just vanilla ice cream with different choices of toppings.

"So what was your proposition?" Rosalie asked as she poured warm caramel over her ice cream.

"Oh, right, we almost forgot." Edward started as he grinned excitedly. "So yesterday when I got home from work I got a call from my mother and she wanted to discuss if we were going to go down there for a week before Christmas. She was calling early so that we would have time to request that time off of work. And then we got to talking about other stuff and I mentioned you girls. She got extremely excited and asked me to ask you guys if you would care to join our family on Christmas."

Even before he even finished his last sentence, I knew what he was going to say, but even when I heard the words come from his mouth I couldn't believe them. I didn't know how to react I was so stunned and only when I felt a warm finger slid across my cheek did I realize I was crying.

"Bella, honey, it's okay, you don't have to come." Edward spoke softly to me as he gently stroked my cheek.

"No!" Rosalie, Alice and I all cried in response and I shook my head quickly.

I knew that Edward was taking my tear stricken face the wrong way and when he had quickly reassured me that I didn't have to go, I panicked, much like Rosalie and Alice. Really, the reason why I had begun to cry, was because at the sound of his proposition, I had for once imagined what it would be like to actually celebrate a Christmas the right way, or to celebrate it even at all.

"No... It's just..." I continued as I stared in awe at Edward. "We've never really celebrated Christmas the real way..."

Edward's eyes widened and he frowned at me, then exchanged disbelieving glances with Emmett and Jasper. "Are you saying you guys never celebrate Christmas?" Edward spoke softly, pulling my chin up to look at him when my gaze had falling to my lap.

"Well it's not like we really had anyone to celebrate it with. I mean they celebrated it at the orphanage, but because of the age different between us and the other children and the fact that we didn't really socialize with anyone...it just never stuck with us. I mean we exchange gifts...but that's about it." Alice said softly.

"No tree? No decorations? No Christmas dinner?" Emmett asked disbelieving, but his voice was the softest it had been all night as he stared sadly at Rose who too had tears running down her face.

"No." I mumbled, shaking my head before resting it on Edward's chest as he pulled me into his lap.

"Then it's settled, you girls will come celebrate Christmas with us - the right way." Edward said and a smile broke out on my face immediately. I felt my body begin to buzz with anticipation and my thoughts began to wonder to the image of myself sitting in front of a Christmas tree with Edward.

"Yay!" Alice squealed excitedly, clapping her hands as she bounced in her seat. "This is going to be so much fun! Do we get to decorate a tree? Aw, no... your mom will probably already have that up by the time we get there..."

"Not if I ask her not to." Jasper said quickly, not wanting to kill Alice's Christmas spirit.

"Aw, Jazzy." Alice smiled sweetly at him then leaned over give him a chaste kiss.

From there on, the conversation was over what we would expect when we went to Colorado to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. Throughout the whole discussion, Alice, Rosalie and I couldn't keep the excited grins off of our faces and I didn't think the sugary ice cream was helping to calm us down. Even when I gave Rosalie the look that indicated that it was time to discuss what we were to do about the man on the twenty second floor, my excitement didn't die at all. I was thankful for the timing of Edward's announcement, it helped us go into the discussion with high spirits.

"So Bella and I were talking earlier and we thought it was best to finally discuss what we are going to do about what happened last week." Rosalie said, and I began to wonder if we should give this guy a name... something shorter than _the guy on the twenty second floor_. Perhaps something like The Man or..._The Dude_.

Emmett sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat to adjust his belt. "I say we kill him." Emmett said quickly and seriously, causing all of us to burst into laughter.

"What exactly can we do?" Jasper contemplated as he held Alice's hand on top of the table. "I mean we know what floor he lives on, but that's about it. And even if we run into him again, what would we say?"

"We could strike up a conversation and figure out his name?" Alice shrugged.

"Then what?" I asked, seriously doubting that any of us could get a background check on him or anything.

We all went silent after that, apparently having come to a dead end. I couldn't for the life of me think of where to begin. If he _was _of our past, what did we do? Just walk up to him and ask? But even then, how would we know for sure that he was? Where was the proof? We had nothing to go on...

"I've got an idea." Rosalie smirked mischievously, as she thrummed her fingers on the table. "I was thinking about it all day, and I could only come up with one thing. Unfortunately, it involves some felonies..."

"What!?"

"Are you crazy!?"

"No way, nuh uh!"

"Sweet!"

We all stopped and turned our heads to Emmett who was grinned excitedly.

"What?" He questioned, "How many times am I going to get offered to commit a felony by my girlfriend, _with _girlfriend? Plus, I know Rosalie wouldn't suggest it if there was a chance we could get caught."

"Thanks, Emmett." Rosalie grinned. "He's right. I wouldn't lead y'all into this if I even thought there was a chance we would get caught. I was just thinking about how we could get some information about him, and where is the one place in this building that would have information about him stored?"

"Ms. Dwyer's office." I offered, frowning slightly at the direction her thoughts were going.

"Exactly, and do you girls remember how she was complaining about not having enough money for better security? Her office doesn't even have cameras or an alarm system. We just pick a lock, and we are in."

"No late night guards?"

"Nope." Rosalie said, popping her 'p' and smiling smugly. "She couldn't afford that either. Plus she goes back to her own apartment sometime between 10:30 and 11."

I searched around the room, watching as everyones features still seemed doubtful. I don't know what came over me, I blame the sugar and the left over excitement of learning that I was going to be spending Christmas with the Cullens, but I grinned like a maniac and cried, "Let's do it!"

I began to blush as everyone's heads quickly swiveled around to meet my gaze, all expressions ones of disbelief. Edward looked surprised but I watched as the corner of his lips began to quirk upward, his lopsided grin threating to break through.

"What!?" I cried, still grinning. "I say what the hell! I even know how to pick a lock..."

Everyone gasped audibly but Edward, who began to chuckle uncontrollably. He was obviously finding this crazy side of me either laughably funny or surprisingly endearing. Hopefully the latter...

"And how exactly do you know how to pick a lock?" Alice asked, her tone dripping in curiosity and disbelief.

This dramatic reaction to me actually wanting to do something crazy and adrenaline pumping was seriously putting a damper on my buzz. Was I really that much of a buzz kill? I didn't think I was _that _uptight. I mean how many times did we contemplate doing such a thing as breaking and entering? Or did they discuss matters such as these without me because they knew I would disapprove?

Okay, _now_ I was getting paranoid. I really doubt my friends would meet up behind my back to discuss what the felony of the week would be...

"Well, you remember when you and Rose went off to that Mathletes trip for the weekend our sophomore year?"

"Mathletes!?" Emmett chuckled, "You guys were math nerds!?"

"Bella!" Alice whined as she shook her head in shame, her pixie spikes flying every which way. "I thought I told you never to speak of that again."

"Well how else was I to tell you when it happened?" I questioned, chuckling as I watched Rosalie sink down into her seat. "_Anyways_, I got extremely bored, having realized how lonely it can get with your only two friends being gone for the weekend... So I chose to try and socialize among my peers, and I ended up picking the wrong person. You remember Terra Watts?"

"Terrible Terra!? You learned how to pick a lock from her? Why did you never tell us?" Rosalie cried in surprise.

"I was too embarrassed! My first attempt ever to gain a friend ended horribly! And plus, she had gotten moved to a different orphanage a few days later for doing heaven knows what, there was no need to speak of the incident."

"Oh my." Alice sighed as she suppressed a chuckle. "I would never have imagined. So she just up and decided to show her new bestie how to pick locks?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, pretty much. She had said it was a valuable thing to learn. Obviously the little delinquent was right, and here I am, offering my services... _in lock picking_."

"Good save." Jasper nodded in approval as Emmett huffed in annoyance. I smiled in triumph, realizing that in being around Emmett more, I had learned to keep things literal. Never let anything be said that could in any way be made a dirty joke.

"Well, if Bella is for the idea, I guess I'm in too." Alice said sheepishly, and I could see the excitement building inside her as she thought about what she just agreed to do.

"Awesome!" Rosalie cheered as she stood up from her chair. "So it is almost eleven now, and I was thinking we could head down around midnight. Movie until then?"

"Hold on! Wait a minute." Edward urged. "Jasper and I never agreed to this."

"So?" Rosalie questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "We've got our lock picker-" She pointed a finger at me with an amused grin, "- so we really don't need you to come..."

"Except maybe to bail us out of the pokie if we get caught." I joked quietly to myself.

Edward groaned as he seemed to go into deep thought over the matter, his gaze switching from my face to Rosalie's who was grinning knowingly down at him. "Fine, I'll go..." Edward finally groaned out as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I knew you would. You'd never let Bella go by herself with the slight chance that she might get caught." Rosalie laughed as she began to pick up some dirty dishes off the table.

After Edward's agreement, Jasper wasn't too hard to manipulate - I mean_ convince _- into going. After the dining room was cleaned up and the dishes were done, we all split up back to our rooms - apartment for the guys - to change into some pajama's for the movie.

I ran excitedly back to my apartment, passing by Emmett, Edward and Jasper as they calmly walked to the elevator. When I got to my room, I practically ripped off my dress and slipped on my favorite The Beatle's t-shit that said _"All You Need is Love" _and my comfortable pair of plaid pajama pants.

And to finish off my comfy outfit, I slipped my favorite shark slippers onto my chilled feet. When I realized that it had only been a few minutes since the guys had left to change, I took a few breaths in order to calm my excitement since I didn't want to have to wait around at Rosalie's apartment for them and began to slowly run a brush through my hair.

After I had taken the time to brush my teeth and wash my face, I then began to make my way down the hall towards Rose's, my eyes trained on the cute little sharks on my feet. When I finally made it through the front door and into the living room, the guys were already there seated in various places in the living room. Edward was sitting on the love seat that was facing where I stood in the doorway of the living room, and he didn't look too happy.

_Well that just wont do..._

I giggled and ran through the living room to his chair. His head snapped up when he heard me giggle, but was too late to react when I launched myself into his lap. I then curled up into him, growling and giggling as I wiggled my shark slippers in his lap.

Just as I had planned, he began to chuckle, his chest shaking from underneath me as he held me close to him. I continued to growl at him, with an occasional 'rawr' when my slipper would make contact with his arm, until I heard the familiar light steps stop at the entrance of the living room.

I quickly hopped off of Edward's lap, surprising him by my sudden movement, and turned to face Alice who stood a few feet away, clad in her favorite blue Hello Kitty jumper and rainbow boxer shorts. And on her feet were her sea turtle slippers, the ones she had bought at the same time I had bought mine.

I grinned wickedly at her, and in response she frowned innocently, her eyes growing wide in false fear. I lifted the toe of my foot into the air in the direction of where she stood, and began to make a loud sniffing sound, as if my little sharks were sniffing for her sea turtle clad feet.

"Rawr!" I roared as I jumped into the air and began running towards her, shuffling my feet the whole way. She shrieked in response, and began quickly shuffling away from me.

Chuckles sounded through the living room as shark chased turtle, Alice squealing in fright while I growled and roared. And just when I had Alice cornered, stuck between the wall and the couch, I heard Rosalie enter the room and stop a few feet behind me.

Alice and I both instantly turned in her direction, our eyes running over her_ "Hanging with my gnomes" _pajamas and down to the Finding Nemo slippers on her feet. She squealed loudly and began to shuffle towards Emmett who sat in the middle of the large couch, Alice and I in hot pursuit behind her.

Once close enough, Rosalie launched herself into Emmett's lap, causing him to grunt from her weight landing on his chest. Alice and I squealed and jumped on him also, grabbing onto any part of Rosalie that we could find.

From there on, it was a mess of arms and legs as we tried to pull slippers off of each other or just tickle the other, all while Emmett sat underneath us, not once protesting.

"I think I'm enjoying this more then I should..." Emmett said with a relaxed sigh as he rested his hands behind his head. All three of us stopped our squirming and giggled, throwing our arms around him.

I heard protesting from the other side of the living room right before I felt warm arms forcefully snatch me off of Emmett. I squealed, kicking my legs in the air as Edward pulled me back to the recliner he was sitting in. He sat me on his lap and latched his arms around me, locking his hands together on my hip. "I don't like my girlfriend sitting on my perverted brother." Edward then whispered in my ear, causing all the excitement inside me to be replaced by a calm, warm feeling.

I chuckled and turned in my seat so that I could loop my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder.

"I rather enjoy watching you when you're hyper." Edward mused as he shifted lower in his seat, getting us comfortable for the movie. I just sighed, content just to hear his deep voice and to feel the warmth of his arms around me.

The lights went out shortly after everyone had quited down, and the opening credits to Hot Rod began to roll.

* * *

"I have this acid...but I can't dooo it." Emmett said in a deep voice as we all made our way slowly down the public stairs of the apartments. We had decided that it was more inconspicuous to take the stair instead of the noisy elevator. Plus the stairs opened up right next to Ms. Dwyer's office door.

I was currently taking second place behind Rose who had become the leader of the whole operation, me being her beta because of my skills. Behind me was little Alice who was being especially quiet, so quiet that I had to occasionally look behind me to see if she hadn't trailed behind with the rest of them. Behind her was Emmett, then Jasper and lastly Edward, who had become even more against the whole idea as soon as we stepped into the stair well.

When Emmett spoke, his voice echoes through the entire stair well, causing us all to jump and freeze where we stood. Then came the chorus of _shhh_'s and even one '_shut up you big oof!_'. Once they were all done scolding him, I let Alice pass me before I looked up at Emmett and said, "I'll doooo it." In a deep voice while I held up my hand.

We continued to chuckle quietly the whole way down until we were hushed by Rosalie who was holding the exit door open for us. Alice then had the lead as she made a sharp left towards the office, Emmett and I following close behind with hunched back and finger guns.

"Iy!" I cried in pain as my foot made contact with the corner of the wall we were turning at, affectively smashing my toes to oblivion. Strangely I had enough time to mentally scowled my little sharks for being no protection against hard objects while I felt my body began to fall towards the tiled lobby floor.

"Gotcha, sis." Emmett chuckled before I felt him grab me around the waist and pull me back to my feet.

"Thanks! My face greatly appreciates it!" I laughed as I gave him my own version of a bear hug. Eventually we made it to the office, and I instantly knelt down in front of it while pulling the paper clip and tension wrench from my pocket.

"Wait, Emmett? Did you call me 'sis' a minute ago? As in sister?" I laughed quietly as I worked and everyone crowded around me to watch.

"No!" Emmett replied back sarcastically, "I meant 'sis' as in sissy!"

I chuckled as I repositioned the tension wrench at the bottom of the key hole and started stabbing the paper clip to move the little levers inside. "You do realize that if you see me as your sister, that makes Rose your sister too? Therefore you would be committing incest?"

"Hmm..." Emmett hedged from behind me and I could almost see him rubbing his chin in contemplation.

"Emmett, what are you looking at?" Rosalie asked wearily not a moment later.

"Yep." Emmett finalized, "I would totally commit incest for Rosie."

"Ew!" Alice shrieked, but was cut off by someone's hand clamping over her mouth.

"Shh!" Jasper hissed irritably, "Can we please hold off on the banter until this is finished? I really don't feel like getting arrested tonight."

"Got it!" I whisper yelled with a pump of a fist as I stood from my crouched position and opened the door. Everyone filed inside quickly, Edward being last. He stopped in front of where I held the door for a moment, then the next thing I know he's groping me and kissing me silly.

"That was sexy as sin." He whispered in my ear once he had pulled back to let me breath. I shivered and a strained giggle fell from my lips.

"Glad you liked it." I breathed as he finally realized where we were and quickly began to pull me inside, shutting the door behind us with a soft click.

"Okay, the files are first labeled by floor, then by room number." Rosalie said as she was already hunched over the opened file cabinet, her perfectly manicure fingers flipping through files. "And since we don't know what his room number is, we will have to write down each name, eliminating the women of course, unless it's a couple. We don't know if he is living with someone or is married, so we will inspect those too. If you find something suspicious with a file, write it down along with the name of the people living there."

She then pulled out a large group of folders and brought them over to the empty table that sat in the corner of the room. We then got to work in writing down names and certain information about each person in the apartment. I was opening up my third folder when I gasp in surprise. It was completely blank. The lines that were meant to be filled with various information was left completely blank, all except for the first and last name. James Ladin.

"Uh, guys..." I said hesitantly as chills began to run up my spine. "I think I found something suspicious..."

Edward was at my side in an instant, probably having heard the uneasiness in my voice. He peared over my should and gasped in surprise too. Not a moment later the file was snatched from my hands and passed around for everyone to see, the ones who had already inspected it catching the others eye with worried expressions.

"There is nothing filled in!" Rosalie said disbelieving. "How can that be?!"

"I don't like this..." Alice moaned as she turned her head into Jasper's side, clasping her little arms around his waist.

"How can Mrs. Dwyer accept an application with no information what-so-ever?"

"She'd have to be in on it." I shook my head in disbelief. "There is no way she would unless she had a reason."

"So if Mrs. Dwyer of all people is in on this, anyone could be!" Rosalie cried.

I then blocked them out as their discussion got more heated, every one of their fears and worries growing larger. I tapped my finger against my lips as I wandered back to the file cabinets. Curiosity got the best of me, and soon enough I was opening the _Floor 25 _section and pulling out all three of our files. I carried them over to the desk beside everyone else, bringing their attention to me instantly. I felt Edward's soft breath on my neck as he stood close behind me, his hand resting on my hips as he watched me open up the first folder.

"Oh God." I breathed as my eyes raked over all the empty blanks. My hands quickly flipped through every sheet of paper, frantic to find at least _one_ paper that was as full as the day we filled it out. But there wasn't. The handwriting of my name wasn't even mine. It was someone else's. I didn't even have to open up Alice or Rosalie's file, because I knew what would be inside already.

"What is going on?" Edward sighed quietly behind me as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder. I took in a shaky breath as I leaned into his embracing, needing any type of comfort as my mind reeled with the new information.

I didn't know what to make of it. The only thing I could come up with was that someone was hiding us and this James Ladin guy. Not only that, but Mrs. Dwyer either was helping or in on the whole thing.

So she might even know what we are. She could know anything. Or she could know nothing at all! How would we ever know?

How long had we lived here with people who obviously knew what we were or where we came from? More so, why were they keeping us in the dark? Did they not know how much this was hurting us? Not knowing _anything _about ourselves or our past?

But now that we know that something is happening here and that these people know about us, what are we to do? How do you strike up a conversation with a person who obviously had something to do with the big gaping hole in your memory? Even if we did find the courage to do just that, how could we know they were good people?

So many new questions floated around my mind as we all quietly made our way back to the apartment. No one spoke, not even Emmett. We were all too shocked and lost in our own thoughts that we didn't even speak as we headed to our own rooms for sleep.

"Stay with me." I breathed as I clutched onto Edward's shirt. He gave me a small smile as he cupped my face in his hands, and I felt somewhat of a relief at his touch.

"Of course." He whispered quietly before giving me a gently, loving kiss. I led him to my bedroom where we climbed under the covers and instantly wrapped the other in our arms.

I felt a small bit of peace wash through me as I rested my head on Edward's chest, hearing the faint sound of his heart beat. His warm hands stroked my back and the arm that I had slung over his stomach as he whispered sweet words to me, trying to calm the fear that kept me awake and clutching to him.

"I love you and I will never let anything happen to you." He whispered with a sweet, lingering kiss to my fore head right before I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**PLEASE READ :)**

**K, so touching on the whole Christmas thing here, I was a little worried about keeping that because it might not seem believable to you guys. Allow me to elaborate? K, thanks ;) = Pretty much they don't feel so much for celebrating Christmas because they had always felt Christmas was a family thing. And they had never had a real "family". The orphanage they stayed in was mostly full of littler kids and so they weren't really a part of it. Plus, they didn't even remember celebrating Christmas as kids, well because they couldn't remember when they were little!... As for the guys, they had Carlisle and Esme to start the whole family Christmas celebrating shabang. So does that sound more believable? Hopefully you didn't think that was a totally rediculous thing...**

**NEW STORY IN PROGRESS: Exciting news! I am currently working on a new story called _The Runaways_. I have a Prologue and Chapter One finished, but its still a work in progress. It's basically a Twilight meets X-Men story. Not your normal cross over though, because there probably wont be any of the X-Men characters in it, just the "mutant" concept. Edward's like Rogue, he meets Bella who he can't seem to stay away from even though he knows he could accidently kill her. Or could he? Hmm... ANYWAYS, look out for that, put me on Author Alert if you are interested in it. I don't know when I'll post it, I want to get a few chaps written first though.**

**QUOTES: As for the "I have this acid, but I can't do it." That was a quote from Hot Rod, one of my sister and I's favorite movies. It's hilarious, so go watch it!**

**SWCE IS IN A COMMUNITY! Special thanks to Albino Porch Monkey for adding my story to his/her (?) community. So ppl, go subscribe to it! It's called _Same but Different_.**

**Sorry for the long Author's Note! Does that terribly annoy y'all? :( I try to cut it down, but I got so much to say! So, finally, I come to an end!**

**Review!**

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	23. Chapter 22: Porno

AN: Sorry for taking so long! But here it is, don't have much to say except that it's just a filler type chap with a lot of cuteness between E/B and Em/R...so hopefully you guys don't think this is dragging on. So if you don't like the meaningless fluff tell me, k? Need the feedback so I know what to do and what not to do. Enjoy!

Warning: Mild language. Emmett said a dirty word! :O

Chapter 22: Porno

**EPOV**

I was once again given the privilege of waking up with Bella in my arms. Her small, warm body molded to mine, giving me the peace of mind that she was here, in my arms and safe. Right where I was going to keep her for as long as I could.

I was awoken from my peaceful sleep - I had just recently acquired the ability to convince myself that nothing wrong was going to happen so that I would stop aching with worry, they always say ignorance is bliss - by her when she had mumbled my name in her sleep, and I would have smiled if it weren't for the fact that it was more of a cry of sadness while she blindly clutched onto my t-shirt.

She was having a nightmare. No doubt brought on by the new knowledge we had acquired last night. She was scared of what we were finding out and it was killing me that I wasn't much help in getting her to relax.

She whimpered again, her eyes clenching tightly as she gripped the front of my shirt. The sight made my heart clench and I could no longer watch her suffer.

"Bella." I breathed as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as tight to me as I could without harming her while I rested my fore head on hers and brushed our noses together. "Bella, sweetheart, wake up."

I had just placed a gentle kiss on her lips when her eyes flitted open, wide and alert. She blinked a few times with a sigh of relief, a few unshed tears escaping from the corner of her eyes, running down her flushed cheek. "It's okay." I whispered as I caressed her cheek with the back of my hand.

She visibly relaxed into me, a shuddering sigh escaping her as she wiggled her way farther under the sheets so that she could bury her face in my chest.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." She said in a small voice just as the sun finally appeared from behind the half closed curtains. Light poured in, slightly blinding me for the moment, causing me to bury my face in the wonderful sent of Bella's hair.

"Why would I want to sleep at a time like this?" I pretended to groan sleepily as I rolled us over so that I had her pinned to the bed. "Why, oh why, would I want to remain unconscious when I have a beautiful woman sleeping next to me?" I continued as I slid down her body so that my face was hovering over her stomach. I watched as she peered down as me, her eyes growing wide, her mind obviously going to the gutter...

"Tell me, Isabella. Would you have wanted to waste another moment sleeping when you knew you were wrapped up in my arms?" I said with a sly grin as her breathing grew heavier. She gulped and shook her head lightly.

"Thought so." I finished pointedly, then quickly pushed the hem of her shirt up, revealing her slender stomach, and bent over, blowing hard into her skin. She shrieked in response, her body caving in on her as she fought to pull my stubbled face away from her sensitive skin.

"Edward!" She cried as I blew and shook my head from side to side against her abdomen.

"Say you're not sorry!" I said, my words slightly jumbled because I hadn't bothered to stop my tickling.

"What!?" She shrieked again as I this time began to bite at her lightly. I gripped her wrists that were trying to push my shoulders and pull my hair and pinned them to the side of the bed before I finally pulled my face away from her stomach.

"I said, say you aren't sorry." I replied in a deep, authoritative voice as I playfully glared up at her from under my lashes.

I watched as she gasped for air and began contemplating my words, obviously not wanting to say the words because she truly was still sorry and because she believe I was done with the torture.

"Took too long." I said sharply and just caught her surprised expression before I went back in for the kill, this time blowing even harder.

"No!" She screamed, "I-I...Ahh! I'm not sorry! Okay? I'm not!"

"That's better." I said as I climbed back up her body, her wrists still in my hands. I knew from the annoyed glare she was giving me that the moment I let her go, I'd be pummeled to a pulp with no choice but to relent and apologize. Which was something I was not going to do.

"That was mean." She said as she began to pout.

"Oh, please." I scoffed dramatically as I collapsed on top of her with her hands now pinned above her head. "You enjoyed it."

"Mmm..." She hummed, holding her head high. "Nope, I didn't. I'm probably going to have a red mark on my stomach now from my hobo of a boyfriend."

"Hobo?" I said stunned, shaking my head at her. "You don't like the scruff?"

"Actually...I did." She said with a small smile. "I found it quite sexy, until I had it clawing at my stomach."

"You gave up on it that easily?"

"I dunno..." She mused, "I could use some convincing..."

"That I can do..." I grinned as I released her wrists, letting my hands trail lightly down her arms and to the bed on either sides of her shoulders so that I could support my weight. I then bent my head down and kissed the base of her neck chastely before giving her an opened mouth kiss there and began sucking lightly.

She hummed in approval, her small hands weaving their way into my hair as I began to move my way higher up her neck. I was just about to give her a little love bite when there was a soft knock at the door.

I groaned in frustration and then growled before biting Bella's neck viciously causing her to shriek.

"Can we come in?" Alice's soft voice sounded from the other side of the door as I pushed myself off of Bella to sit beside her.

"Go ahead." I sighed as I pulled Bella into my lap, wrapping my arms around her from behind.

A moment later, Alice and Jasper entered the room, Jasper looking everywhere but near where we sat and Alice looking the calmest I had ever seen her before.

"It sounded like you were having Bella for breakfast, and we came to see if you would share." Alice said with a soft giggle as Jasper continue to stare down at his shoes.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have enough to spare." I said with a mischievous smirk as I placed a light kiss on the back of Bella's neck.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't. Bella's just skin and bones." Alice said, earning a gasp from Bella.

"Uh, Jasper?" I chuckled as I continued to watch him stand awkwardly behind Alice.

"Yeah?" He replied, still not looking up at us.

"You know you can look up..."

Begrudgingly, Jasper pealed his eyes away from his shoes and peeked at us from under his lashes. When he saw that we were _decent,_ I guess, he sighed and straightened in his posture, no sign of reluctance in his gaze.

"What did you think you would find?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I dunno." He replied sheepishly with a shrug of his shoulders as he nervously scuffed the carpet with the tip of his shoe. I was planning on bugging him further on it, seeing a perfect opportunity to get a rise out of him, but chose to not say anything further on it. Jasper was a gentlemen, so he most likely did it out of respect, having never been in Bella's room before. In a way, I respected him for it. He wasn't arrogant and rude like Emmett, who probably would have made some crude joke about Bella or even try to go through her underwear drawer.

"Anyways," Alice said, looking away from Jasper with an amused smile on her face. "We just came in here to tell you that Rose is cooking breakfast and we are going to discuss things while we eat. I had Emmett fetch you some clean clothes while he was getting his, so I put them outside the bathroom in the apartment across the hall, along with some shampoo and a bar of soap."

"Wow, thanks." I smiled with a nod of approval.

"See y'all down there." Alice said with a smile as she grabbed Jasper's hand and dragged him from the room.

"Wow, I'm surprised she let me pick my own clothes. How ever will I be able to choose when for so long I had no free will to do so?" Bella joked as she crawled from my arms and off the bed.

I watched in amusement as she rolled her shoulders in discomfort as she padded to bathroom. The sight made the pain in my shoulders appear and only then did I realize that we hadn't bothered to let our wings out before going to bed last night.

"Shit." I hissed under my breath as I jumped off of the bed causing Bella to giggle from inside the bathroom. Despite the pain that had just intensified now that I had recognized it, I smiled over at the closed bathroom door as I heard her scuffling around inside.

I shook my head before I practically ripped my shirt over my head and not a moment later was met with the relief of my wings breaking the skin. I sighed as I stretched my arms over my head and my wings out wide.

I then made my way out of the bedroom towards the front of her apartment just as I heard Bella turn on the shower and I sped up my pace not wanting to give myself the chance to let my mind wander to inappropriate things.

I groaned as I looked down at the pile of clothes at my feet once I made it to the bathroom in the apartment across the hall. I bent over and examine the plain black t-shirt and dark jeans. The jeans were a pair I wore often, so I wasn't too put out by that choice. But of course Emmett had to choose the tightest black t-shirt I had. Most likely he did it as a joke or he wanted me to look more "manly" and "show off the guns" as he so frequently told me.

Ten minutes later and I was grumbling incoherent words under my breath as I pulled the t-shirt over my head. The whole way back to Bella's apartment I was trying my best to stretch out the shirt that clung to my shoulders and biceps uncomfortably while I thought of ways to get back at Emmett.

"This is ridiculous." I mumbled as I pulled on the sleeve of my shirt once back in Bella's bedroom.

"What's ridiculous?" Bella giggled and I looked up just in time to see her flip the cap of a bottle of lotion shut and stand up off the edge of the bed.

A small awed smile graced my lips at the sight of her - freshly showered and clean, her wet hair in disarray framing her slightly flushed face. Then she finally stood in front of me and I was hit with the delicious sent of Bella. Her fresh natural scent mixed with her strawberry shampoo and freesia lotion, it was mouth watering.

Without even thinking about my action, I had taken that extra step that stood between us to bring our bodies flush against each other, then dove in taking a long, sweet taste of her neck. I heard her gasp in surprise just as one of my hands cupped the other side of her neck while I devoured the other.

The next few moments were a blur as I continued to taste her, her small gasps and whimpers egging me on, before I felt my other hand that was resting on her lower back begin to slide down on its own accord to cup her ass and pull her closer.

I hadn't realized what I had done until Bella gasped loudly and jumped at the sudden contact. I instantly stilled, my back tensing as my mind finally caught up with my body. A second later and I had ripped myself away from her, clenching my eyes shut as I gripped my hair, trying to reign in the overwhelming feeling that was coursing through my body, the one that was now telling me to keep going in the direction my logical side knew shouldn't happen until she was Mrs. Bella Cullen.

_God, how I loved the sound of that._

_  
_"I'm sorry." I said as I removed my hands from my hair and looked up at her through my lashes. She stood not but a foot away - probably still too close for me to thinking properly - breathing heavily and watching me with heavy lidded eyes.

"No. It's okay."

"No, Bella, it was not okay." I said angrily as my mind continued to replay what I had done in my head. We had had some pretty passionate make out sessions before, but I had never once groped her like I had just done. To put it lightly, I was disgusted with myself. I had let my hormones over take me for only a moment, and I had totally lost control.

"Edward." Bella said forcefully as she pulled my hands away from where they were rubbing my temples to place her own hands softly on either side of my face. "Edward, you are overreacting. It's okay, I promise. I was just pleasurably surprise." She ended with a smirk as she let her hands fall from my face and move around my waist.

I stood tense for a little longer, watching her closely as she pulled me closer and rested her chin on my chest with an adorable little smirk on her face. I finally sighed, knowing that there was not much I could argue on when she really wasn't offended. I, myself, still didn't think it was an appropriate thing to do, but there was no use arguing that with her. I'd just have to keep my self in better check so that it didn't happen again.

**BPOV**

I sighed happily as I rested my head on Edward's shoulder from where I sat in his lap at Rosalie's kitchen table. A small smile graced my face as I played with the damp hair at the back of his head and thought back to my morning.

It was a perfect way to wake up - in Edward's arms. It was the second time since we've been together that I had woken up to his face, and I have to say it was probably even better this last time. Mostly because this was the one morning I needed him the most.

I was having a nightmare of one of the many scenarios I had of this whole situation. This one being the one where the people who had kept us when we were little had come back to take us. Take Edward away from me...

The dream had left an ache in my chest at the thought of loosing him, but when I had woken up to his soft caress and his deep green eyes I had felt relief. Then he had taken my mind off the dream and the whole situation itself by tickling me, though I have to admit at first my thoughts had wondered to more dirtier directions when he had slid down my body...

I was still amazed and thankful that now, the morning after the scary news we had found out last night and the knowledge that this was a breakfast meeting about what was to be done about it, I wasn't scared. At least not while I had Edward practically hand feeding me Rosalie's amazing pancakes while lovingly stroking my side with the arm he had wrapped around me.

He was my light. Keeping me out of the dark and scary thoughts of what could happen. How could I be worried about all the _what if's_ when I had him near me? How could I not let my love for him overshadow all my worries? How could I let anything keep me from appreciating what I had wrapped around me at this very moment licking syrup from my lips?

I giggled as Edward pulled back for a moment to make sure he had gotten all of the syrup that had dripped onto my chin. "I don't think you got it all." I insisted with another giggle.

"You're right, I don't think I did!" He nodded pointedly with a crooked smile on his face before dipping back in to kiss my lips. He then began to move to my chin and I instantly tilted my head back, anticipating his decent to my neck. But it never came, he stilled at my chin and then pulled away, going back to his pancakes with a look of concentration.

I rolled my eyes briefly, annoyed because I knew now that he was scared of "losing control" again.

_Like groping my ass was worthy of a porno_.

I knew why he was working hard to keep that side of him under control, and I was grateful that he was because I wasn't planning on going that far with him until he was my husband. But still, I didn't believe that what he did was worthy of such reaction and quite frankly, I had enjoyed it. Not only did I like it because it felt nice, but I also enjoyed it because, in a way, it was so unlike Edward. I had liked that Edward had acted out of his gentlemanly box, it was exciting.

That is until he pulled back even more, not even venturing down to my neck anymore.

I was just about to scowled him and demand that he grope me again this instant so that he would get over this little tiff, when I was interrupted by Emmett's disgusted groan.

"I think I'm done..." Emmett grunted as he pushed his practically empty plate away from him. "I can't stand watching all of y'all suck face."

"You are worse then us Emmett, and you don't hear us complaining." I laughed as I accepted another bite of pancake from Edward.

"It's not gross when sexy people do it!" Emmett gagged as Edward once again used his lips as a napkin. "I wont be able to keep down Rosalie's hard worked, delicious, worthy of making love to pecan pancakes!"

"Emmett? Has anyone ever told you that you are a drama queen?" I asked with a smile. Emmett appeared shock at my question at first, but quickly went back to his cool demeanor as he rested his hands behind his head.

"Yeah... a couple times. I can't be offended by it, it only proves that there are many aspects of Emmett. He can be damn sexy, while appearing innocent. He can be bad ass but with a sense of angelicy underneath. He can-"

"Can look like a complete pompous ass while still finding the means to make it a joke?" Edward interjected.

Emmett stilled for a moment, his eyes trained on Edward with a blank expression. He opened his mouth once...then twice...before he finally said, "Yeah?"

The whole table burst into laughter because Emmett had obviously not understood what Edward had said. And even in the midst of being laughed at, Emmett didn't seem to be affected by it as all, giving me an odd respect for him that quickly halted my laughter.

A few moments later, Rosalie finally sat at the table with her own plate of food, having been in the kitchen cooking for everyone else. The serious look on Rosalie's face gave us all the hint that it was now time to discuss our plans for today.

"Okay, guys, so I've been thinking about what our next step should be. We need to take baby steps... Firstly, we need to make double sure that this James..." She quickly skimmed through the papers of all the residents of floor twenty-two before she found his name. "Ladin guy is actually who we are looking for. So I say we take shifts hiding out in the stair well, watching to see if he leaves his apartment. Emmett and I went down a few floors earlier and we figured out that you can just see his apartment door from the door to the stairwell if you crack it open enough to peek through."

My eyebrows furrowed as I thought this over. It was a rather risky thing to do, seeing as anyone could walk up or down the stair and see us, including this James guy himself. Then again, I'm sure with our hearing we would be able to know if anyone was coming.

I shrugged my shoulders lazily in agreement. Everyone else seemed to think the idea was fine and eventually our rounds started, starting with Emmett and Rosalie.

**EmPOV**

I groaned happily as I laid back on Rose's couch, my belly full of her delicious pancakes and my heart warm with the wonderful morning I had waking up to Rosalie's beautiful face. A man can't get any happier with a full belly and a beautiful girlfriend to wake up to, that's for damn sure. Not even Jemward could disagree as he sat next to me licking his lips free of his doggy kibble. Although he didn't have a woman, he was obviously being fed well, what with that belly of his.

And even better, we get to spy on people! How much better can it get? Yeah, it's on a dude that could possible be apart of and know about the fourteen years of our life we oh so conveniently forgot, but I can ignore that in order to enjoy the thrill of spying on him. If only I could do something more than hide out in the stair well like a pussy. Perhaps I could put on a disguise and knock on his door and sell him something? Do people still do that? If so, were they allowed into the apartments?

"You ready, Em?" Rosalie's sweet voice rang from the other side of the living room. I peeked my eyes open to see her standing behind the couch across from me in the doorway.

"Ready for what?" I teased with a small smirk. "For you to get over here and into my arms so that we can take a nap? 'Cuz I could totally go for a nap right now."

"Nap?" She asked disbelievingly. "Emmett, we just woke up like an hour and a half ago, how can you be tired?"

"Did you put turkey in my pancakes?" I suddenly asked causing her eyebrows to furrow in confusion and she tried to contain her laughter.

"Uhm, no Emmett, I forgot to add turkey to my _pancakes_..." She said and finally relented to her giggle fest.

"Huh..." I grunted as my eyelids slid shut again. "I was gunna say...that'd explain why I'm sleepy...you wanna come over here and wake me up, baby? I think I need some convincing." I ended with a smirk, my eyes still shut as I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, I'll give you some convincing..." Rosalie said as I heard her make her way across the room.

"_Oh yeah_." I said as I shifted in my seat, getting ready for her. I opened my arms wide with a smirk as I waited for her warm body to meet mine. I waited...and waited.

"Rose?" I questioned as I finally opened my eyes, just to clamp them shut before the dish towl she held in her hand sailed through the air and whipped me right on the arm with a sharp sting. I shrieked in surprise and pain as I clutched my arm and curled up into myself.

"Rosie?" I cried from underneath my arms.

"Get up!" She barked with a laugh as she leaned over and pinched my ass before turning back around to head towards the front door. I jumped in surprise when she pinched me and as soon as her back was to me I jumped off the couch and ran after her, smacking her on the tush before picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.

"Emmett!" She shrieked as I ran past everyone who were still sitting at the kitchen table eating.

"Off to work kiddos!" I cried as I continued out the front door and towards the stair well.

"Emmett! All the blood is rushing to my head, I COULD DIE!" Rosalie shrieked from behind me.

"Oh, hush." I chuckled as I smacked her ass again causing her to shriek just as I began to make my way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" She questioned from behind me as I made my way down the hallways towards my apartment. She had a firm grip on my ass so she could hold her head up and I have to admit I was enjoying it.

"I'm getting supplies." I said simply as I unlocked the front door and made my way to the kitchen. I dropped her down onto the counter of the kitchen, gave her a loving kiss on the lips before heading back into my room to grab my paint ball gun.

"What are you doing, I ask again." She questioned as I walked back into the kitchen with my paint ball gun and two helmets.

I smirked as I set one helmet and my gun on the counter next to her, then took the other helmet and pulled it over her head.

"Helmet is for safety, either in case you accidentally fall down the stairs-" She snorted at this, "- or in case we get caught, no one can see who you are. And the gun-" I picked up the gun and aimed it at nothing in particular,"- is to speed up this whole process. I don't know about you, but I don't really look forward to lying on the hard concrete floor for hours waiting for this old fart to come out of hiding. So...I will lure him out."

"That is vandalism, sweety." Rose said as she adjusted the straps on her helmet.

"I'm not a complete fool, Rosie. I switched the paint balls for regular plastic balls." I said with a loud chuckle.

"Only you would laugh more then necessary when saying plastic balls." Rosalie laughed as she shook her head and jumped off the counter.

"Of course I would laugh, it's funny!" I insisted as I followed her out the front door.

"Sure it is, honey." Rosalie smiled sympathetically over at me.

"Don't tempt me woman!" I warned playfully as I held the gun up, pointing it right at her ass as she walked in front of me down the hall. She continued to walk, looking over her shoulder with no worry on her face.

"You wouldn't." She said simply and continued to sashay down the hallways, tempting me with every sway of her hips. She was even wearing red shorts! It was like a friggen target! I was stuck between wanting to grab it and shoot it with my gun just to see how she'd react.

Before I could even register what was happening, I heard the distinct pop of the gun going off right before the shrieking began.

"Emmett!" Rosalie screamed as her hands clutched her butt.

"Oh, fuck." I breathed out in surprise as I slowly lowered my gun, watching as she turned to me, her face red with anger. "Rose! I didn't mean to, I swear! I had it aimed and I guess I wasn't paying at-"

I was cut off when she stalked over to me and ripped the gun out of my hands then proceeded to walk away from me. I sighed in relief as she walked away, glad that all I was going to get was the silent treatment. I could deal with that...

As soon as I took a step to follow her, she turned around sharply, swinging the gun up for better aim and began to pop me repeatedly in the chest.

"Rose!" I bellowed as I began to jump around, trying to avoid the neon green balls that flew through the air towards me. I winced every time they came in contact with my body, some hitting me square in the chest, others hitting my arms and legs. One even hit me in the face!

And then it happened. One green ball flew at me, hitting me in my own set off..._you know_...causing me to shriek like a girl and clutch myself before falling to the floor in agony.

"Ouch." I squeaked and gasped repeatedly.

"Oh, baby!" Rosalie came running across the hall towards me, dropping the gun on the way. "Shit! I'm sorry, Em! I didn't mean to aim there!"

I tried to speak, either to scowled her or reassure her that I was okay - though clearly I wasn't - I don't know, but all the came out was a cried of pain. Eventually the pain resided, and I was left exhausted on the floor, lying on my back with Rosalie hovering over me.

"Rosie, I had a hunch that maybe you didn't want children...but you didn't have to kill my manhood to assure you didn't." I joked as I grabbed her and pulled her on top of me.

"Of course I want children, Emmett." Rosalie laughed as she rested her head on my chest.

"Hmmm..."I mused, then quickly rolled us over so that I had her pinned to the floor. "Then let's get to it!" I bellowed as I began to attack her neck, causing her to shriek and giggle. "Mmm, Rosie!" I moaned repeatedly as I then began to tickle her sides.

"Ahh! Emmett!" She shrieked, only failing to encourage me to continue. The dry humping was just about to commence when I heard the door next to us fly open. I relented my tickling and turned my head to see a pair of pink slippers. My gaze made its way up the baggy gray sweats and finally up to the angry face of our old neighbor, Ms. Grykavishni...whatever...

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rosalie cried as she pushed me away from her, pulling us both to our feet.

"Yeah, what she said." I said with a nod of my head as I watched the old lady give us the stink eye. "Sorry to bother you...Ms. Gry..kavish...ini..-"

"Grincavich!" She snapped as she then began to tap her foot either in annoyance or impatience for us to leave.

"Right, right." I chuckled as I began to back away. "You have a wonderful day, ma'am." And with that I tipped my invisible hat and took of down the hall to where Rose was holding the stair well door open as she giggled uncontrollably.

A few minutes later and we had finished discussing that Rosalie was going to be watching out for people who might be using the stairs while I did the shooting and were now making our way quietly down to the twenty-second floor. We both crept up to the heavy green metal door, me falling down to my hands and knees while Rosalie stood over me holding the door open so that no more then an inch of space was between the door and the frame.

Uncomfortably, I rested my elbows on the concrete floor and peeked through the door to find my target before pulling the gun up and sticking the mussel through the gap.

"Ready?" I questioned as I peeked up at Rose quickly. She nodded as she got a firmer grip on the handle so that she could adjust the gap a little more once I had hit my target, closing it enough so that you couldn't notice that it was open but leaving a sliver open so that I could peek through and confirm our suspicions.

"And 5...4...3...2..." My last count wasn't heard as I fired the paint ball gun at the door, hitting square on the number plate, then another pop came as I shot at the door handle. I cringed as I moved back a little with my elbows, scraping them in the process while Rose readjusted the door. I then leaned forward, pressing my face to the door and peeked through.

It took a few minutes, but eventually I could hear the footsteps from inside coming towards the door and not a moment later it opened and out popped the balding, gray haired head. I suppressed a shudder as I watched him look up and down the hallway curiously, the sight of him giving me an uneasy feeling.

He wasn't necessarily a scary man. In fact, I almost felt a sort of respect for him, which in turned gave me the uneasy feeling because I didn't know him, or at least I didn't anymore...

I then perked up as I watched him stand still, his gaze drifting off onto nothing particular, a small almost knowing smile slowly forming on his lips. His eyes gleamed with what appeared to be amusement and even relief.

This dude was seriously weird.

"Emmett?" Rosalie's voice whispered, causing me to jump in surprise even though it inaudible to human ears.

Just as she spoke, James - now I knew for a fact his supposed name was James - walked back into his apartment and I looked up to Rose with a solemn expression.

"It's him Rosie..." I sighed as I stood.

"I knew it would be..."

**BPOV**

I sat at the end of the couch watching Edward as he stared off into space, his body rigid and tense, his expression blank. My thoughts and emotions towards this..._unique_ situation were leaving me quite conflicted.

On the one hand, I was friggen pissed at Edward for the way he was reacting to what he had done earlier. For the past couple of hours since Rose and Emmett had left for their "shift" he had been distant, taking on his Emoward look, one that clearly showed he was determined to do something while mentally scolding himself for something he did - which in this case was grabbing my ass.

One the other hand, for some reason, I found the whole thing oddly hilarious and so _Edward_. It was so like him, being the gentleman he was, to overreact over such a small thing. I was so close just to slapping him and explaining to him that I didn't mind it one bit. It was exciting really, knowing that he had "lost control" as he had put it, because I knew that_ I _was the one that had caused it.

Honestly, I didn't know why he continued to beat himself up about it. I was okay with it, if not approving of it, so why was he so upset?

"Edward..." I whispered as I rested my chin on my bent knee. I watched, resisting the urge to giggle when his back tensed even more and his hands ball up into fists. Just with that small yet ridiculous reaction, I knew what my job was for the day.

_I was going to get him to give in. _

I then turned in my seat so that my legs now hung over the side and began to hum a random tune as I looked everywhere but near Edward who was still ignoring me. A few moments of incessant humming and I randomly scooted over a little more towards Edward...

This continued on until my humming became louder with every scoot and I was eventually sitting flush against him, our hips and thighs touching. I waited again, trying to keep the smile off of my face as I hummed and looked around the room away from Edward. Then, with a ending "hmm hmmm" I hopped over onto his lap and turned so that I was sitting sideways, throwing my arm over his shoulder while I crossed my legs and smiled up at him.

"Well, hello there. I didn't even see you sittin' here!" I teased with a giggled, surprised to see that he was beaming at me, his eyes showing how amused he was.

"You're adorable, you know that?" He chuckled, placing a hand on my knee.

I gasped dramatically and shoved his hand away quickly, covering the spot where he had touched me with my own hand while I looked up at him with mock surprise and disgust. "How dare you! That was unacceptable Edward! Your hand on my knee? Are you trying to get in my pants!?"

Edward sighed loudly, his head falling back against the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. He looked to be slightly annoyed, but I smiled in triumph as I saw the corner of his lips twitch up into a smile.

I continued to sit there, my fingers running through the hairs on the back of his head while I waited for him to respond. When he didn't make a move to appease my little game, I started on my own.

"Yeah, well Edward, I just don't find your knee touching acceptable. I'm a lady and I plan to wait till marriage. That means no touching below the chin, no look-" The whole time I was giggling uncontrollable, not being able to help myself, but was interrupted by Edward whose head finally snapped down to me, his signature crooked smile in place.

"You think this is funny?" He taunted with a chuckled and I gasped as he suddenly grasped my knee tightly, causing me to squirm. I hated it when he tickled me there.

"Yes, I do!" I giggled as I placed my hand over his, trying to move it, but when I tried to pull it away he just squeezed harder, causing me to shriek.

"Isabella..." He said disapprovingly, then began to tickle me while I squirmed around in his lap. At some point during my shrieking, I had gotten to the point where I was about to fall off of his lap, but he stopped his tickling and pulled me back up around the waist.

I sighed, a few giggles still coming as I rested my head on his chest, trying to regulate my breathing.

"But, really Edward," I began as I pulled back, taking his face in between my hands. "It wasn't as bad as you're making it out to be, so stop feeling guilty and stop mentally beating yourself up."

"Yes, Bella, it was bad. It was completely inappropriate and unca-" He started to say, but I shut him up by placing my hand over his mouth.

"Nope, it wasn't." I said firmly, "Who's ass were you grabbing? Mine! Did you hear me complain? No. Whose permission to you need and who should you ask if doing such a thing is an appropriate thing to do? Me. And what do I say? I say it was perfectly okay. Actually, I would even go so far as to ask you to do it again in the future."

His eyes widened as I finished and I kept my hand over his mouth as I waited for him to take it all in. After a few moment, his whole body relaxed and he sighed. Then, the next thing I know, something warm and wet was sliding against my palm.

I gasped, my eyes widening as I pulled my spity palm away from Edward's face as he sat there staring at me blankly.

"You're sure?" He finally breathed.

"Completely." I replied, winding my arms around his neck. I then leaned forward and kissed him gently. "I actually liked it. It was...nice. Feeling you act so out of character and just knowing I made you lose control." I mumbled against his lips as his hands ran up and down my sides.

He chuckled. "You don't know how many times I've been on the verge of losing control."

"Hmm...keep going, I like the ego boost." I chuckled.

"I love seeing you fresh out of the shower...because you look so adorable all flushed with your wet hair in disarray." He mumbled as he - thank the heavens - began to kiss down my neck.

"Uh, huh." I sighed.

"And how wonderful you smell with your strawberry shampoo and your freesia lotion..."

_"And the way your hairy legs are all scratchy against my-"_

"Emmett!" Rosalie's voice cried, followed by the distinct sound of her hand colliding with the back of his head, just before they rounded the corner into the living room.

"I shaved my legs this morning thank you very much!" I said as I pulled away from Edward who did not look too hot about being interrupted.

"Sorry guys." Rosalie said with a sad smile as she sat on the couch across from us along with Emmett. Not a moment after they got settled, Jasper and Alice appeared too, taking a seat on the arm chair beside us. "We needed to have a meeting."

"How did your shift go?"

"Mission is complete." Emmett said in a deep, authoritative voice as he saluted us.

"What Emmett means is, y'all don't have to take your shifts. He came out and it's confirmed that it is James Ladin." Rose said.

Surprisingly enough, Jasper, Alice, Edward and I were shocked by this news. I felt my heart beat quicken as my mind processed it, and I felt confused by my reaction. In a way, I think I already knew our suspicion was correct, it was just that I didn't want to believe it. But now...there was no denying it. Either Rose or Emmett had seen it with their own eyes.

My reaction, I think, was also because I hadn't expected to get the news so quick. I had thought that we would have almost all day, not just a few hours.

But really, what would it have mattered? I found out a few weeks ago that this man knew something about what we are and I still haven't fully processed it or even accepted it. I didn't think I ever would. It was just too big to swallow.

"So quick?" Jasper questioned.

"Ya, well, it would have probably been longer if Emmett hadn't lured him out."

"How did he do that?"

"I shot his door with my paint ball gun." Emmett replied proudly.

"You what!?" I cried, the image of the man's tall green door covered in paint ball splatters coming to mind.

"Chill, Bells, chill." Emmett said, "I replaced the paint balls with regular plastic air filled balls."

"Oh..." I sighed in relief.

"Yeah..." Emmett continued, "I shot the door a couple times, then waited. He finally came out to inspect then went back inside. But what didn't sit well with me was his reaction to the ding dong ditch, or a shoot and ditch. When he could see no one was there, he...smiled...almost knowingly."

"Knowingly? Like he knew who it was?"

"I would hope not..." Emmett sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So... why are our files blank? That's what we have in common with James, but why? Why would Ms. Dwyer not keep any of our information?" Rose said.

"Maybe she was trying to keep us hidden? So that if people ever saw our files, they wouldn't have our personal information?" I added in.

"Then that would mean someone is looking for us, Ms. Dwyer and possibly this James guy knows about it and are keeping us hidden. Does that mean they are the good guys...?" Jasper said.

"They'd have to be if they are keeping us hidden and letting us live our lives normal...well as normal as we can get..." Edward said.

"So...let's assume we now know that this James guy is a good guy, what do we do now?" Alice asked.

The question was left floating through the room, waiting for someone to find the answer. But none of us could, or even if we had one, we couldn't bring ourselves to start the next step into whatever this was...

We were all scared and confused, not knowing what could or should be done. Where would we begin? Where or when do we start the journey of find out what we are and where we came from? Did we even want to know?

* * *

AN: I won't beg for reviews even though I didn't get as many for that last chapter then I had hoped... But news for the Twilight/X-men story I was working on...ya it's not flowing like I thought it would! I got the first chapter written and I think its AWESOME...but I started the second...and hit a rut...So progress for that will be slow, sorry guys. I would post it, but I wanted to have a few written before I did so maybe I'd get a hang of the story and not have to make you guys wait months for an update!

SWCE is in another community! Weeee! That made me extremely happy, so thanks to Rainbow Six to adding me to The Best of Twilight Saga community! :D So, my fans, go join Same but Different and The Best of Twilight Saga!

And lastly, if u have any thoughts for me on my story, is it too drawn out, don't like how a certain character acts, something annoys you, ANYTHING, tell me! Please! I want you guys to help me improve in whatever way you think I need to. If there's nothing, thats good! Tell me so! Luv you guys!


	24. Chapter 23: Carlisle & Esme

AN: So sorry for the long wait, it's been a busy few weeks :| Hopefully I didn't loose y'all? Unfortunetely, I only got ten reviews on the last chapter... I have 105 Favorites and 106 Alerts...and I only got 10 reviews. That kind of worried me, am I losing you guys? Or are you all just being quiet? :( Needless to say the low reviews played a ity bity tiny part in my delay. Reviews really get me excited and help me write...seriously.

So a thank you to the few who did review: **Soccer11, bella-cullen1989, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here**(Boy was that difficult to type!)**,** **jazzie-luvs-me-22, MorningSkyeSong, XXSkittlesXX, il libro, Courtney and Ambersky. **Love you guys! Especially my frequent reviewers, you keep me going!

So I hope you enjoy this chapter, I can't say it's one of my favorites...I'm a lil iffy about it...I'm actually posting it without reading it one last time...EEE! So review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 23: Carlisle and Esme

**EPOV**

The month before the trip to our parents large cottage in Colorado was a pleasant one. More so than any other because the knowledge that the girls were going to be spending Christmas with us and our parents had excited Jasper, Emmett and I, along with the girls.

They were a flurry of activity all month long with plans on what gifts to buy who and what they feel they needed for the trip - add busy work weeks because of the upcoming holiday and it was a stressful month as much as it was exciting.

I couldn't seem to keep the satisfied grin off of my face whenever I'd see Bella's bright eyes at the mention of the trip. It made me feel overjoyed to know that I was giving her something that she had never experience before - the celebration of Christmas _the right way_.

Not only that, but it was also a good way to keep the girls minds off of the James problem. Ever since that night it was confirmed who he was, we hadn't really spoken more on the subject. It was understood that none of us knew what was to be done about the situation and we all hated that we felt so hopeless.

Jasper, Emmett and I had also been rather...attached to the girls lately - practically living with them and never letting them out of our sight unless we had work. Ever since that one sleep over, all three of us had gotten into the pleasurable habbit of crashing in our significant others bed, not only because we enjoyed the extra time with them, but because it helped us sleep better at night knowing they were safe and in our arms.

It would be a lie if I said I wasn't worried about this James guy. I was afraid for Bella's safety because it left an uneasy feeling inside of me knowing that this guy could know more about us then we do - including our weaknesses if we had any.

So many frightening possibilities had crossed my mind in the past month, new ones appearing every time I set my eyes on the man. Which had seemed to be more frequently than I would have liked. He wasn't necessarily showing up at times that were suspicious, it just seemed that we would run into him more often in the elevator, the apartment lobby or even at Bella's work.

And as the time got closer to when we planned on heading out on the road towards my parents, I began to play around with the idea of going to my parents for advice. It was a crazy thought when it had first popped into my head, but the more I thought about Carlisle and Esme - the two people who I love as real parents - it became a more reasonable and appealing idea.

From the moment I had met them I knew they were going to treat us as if we were their own, and that had been exactly how they treated us for the five years we had lived with them. They were the most loving, compassionate people I knew and I knew without a doubt that they wouldn't love us any less if they knew what we were. I also knew that they were the only people we knew enough to ever trust with the information and the advice we were seeking.

But even knowing all of that, I still had doubts. Like if they would be upset that we hadn't trusted them with the information a long time ago or if Ma would worry herself silly over the stressful situation with James. If there was one thing I wanted to avoid, it was worrying Esme.

And as if I didn't have anything else to worry about, I had to buy the perfect gift for Bella. After weeks of racking my brain for the perfect gift, I finally remembered the charm bracelet that Esme had said she wanted me to give to "the one" when I found her. _When_, not ever _if_. It had a single diamond heart on it, meaning to symbolize me giving my heart to her. I had "called dibs", if you will, on the bracelet, since Esme had given the option to all three of us to give to our future wife.

Yes, _wife_. I completely intended to ask her to marry me at the right time...whenever that would be. I had no doubt in my mind that she was it for me, no matter if we found a whole colony of other people like ourselves. I knew it wasn't a coincidence that we found each other and clicked so well, it was fate and she was my other half. The half I didn't know I was missing until I had met her. And there was no way I was going to let anyone else get the chance to have her, especially if we really did find that colony of people like us.

I couldn't help the grin that was plastered on my face as I stepped out of the elevator and onto the girl's floor, having gotten back from loading a few bags in the jeep. We had to take two cars, since Emmett's jeep only sat five and so Bella and I were going to ride with Emmett and Rose in his jeep while Jasper rode with Alice in her Porsche. Alice was "super duper excited" to take her "baby" out onto the open highway since it had only been driven around the busy city.

I heard Bella growl under her breath just as I rounded the corner into her bedroom, the sound both causing me to chuckle. I rested against the door to her room and was met with the adorable sight of Bella wrestling with the wrapping paper as she fought to get her gift to Carlisle and Esme wrapped.

"Son of a..." She grumbled as the gift slipped out of her hands and the tape she held on the tip of her finger folded into itself. I chuckled at the adorable way the tip of her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth when she concentrated and the way she always had the line up to say a curse word but always seemed to trail off at the end. Always _"son of a..."_, _"piece of.." _or _"mother...",_ but never the whole phrase.

Her head snapped up when she heard me chuckle and her aggravated expression turned to a pout as she began to whimper and her arms dropped limply down to her sides. "I can't do it...I can never get the hang of it..."

"It's okay, baby. We can get a bag to put it in on the way over." I said softly as I sat down next to her and pulled her into my lap side ways. She rested her head on my shoulder as I pulled her hand up to unstick the multiple peaces of tape there and gently kiss her palm when I was done.

"You're too good to me." She said, snuggling closer to me, placing a lingering kiss at the base of my neck.

"On the contrary, my love, I only give you the treatment you deserve. If you want us to stop off at the mall and pay big bucks to get it professionally wrapped, I will do it. Hell, I'll even drive up to the North Pole and request the little elves come wrap it for you themselves."

"I don't think Alice's cousins would enjoy being pushed around like that while they are busy making toys for greedy little kids." She replied, earning her a chuckle as her hand lovingly stroked my chest.

I sighed contentedly at the feeling of her in my arms and the loving way she touched me and kissed her chastely on the fore head before readjusting her in my arms and standing up. Expertly, I bent down to grab the half wrapped gift and set it on her lap without even a grunt at the effort.

"You got everything?" I asked as I hesitated at her bedroom door, turning to peer back at her mess of a room. She had thrown various things around in her quest to make sure she had everything packed and found the few presents she had forgotten were hidden around the room.

"Yup!" She sang as she kicked her legs joyously and wound her arms around my neck. "I believe I found all the hidden presents stashed in here, if not, someone is going to get a late Christmas gift!"

"And Jemward?"

"Alice has all his clothes and food packed and he's riding in the back seat of her Porsche. Are you sure your parents don't mind a puppy running around the house?"

"Nah, they are animal lovers..." I said as I made my way down the hall towards the elevator. "Clothes? Jem has clothes?"

"Oh, please." Bella snorted, "This is Alice we are talking about! She even tried to dress our birds until we convinced her that it was illogical."

"Hmmm, you're right. Don't know why I asked." I said simply with a smiled as I hugged her tighter to me. She smiled up at me just as the elevator doors opened in front of us to reveal Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rose.

"We ready?" Alice asked casually and I could tell she was trying to hold in her excitement.

"Yup!" Bella said again, this time in a squeal of excitement as she wiggled out of my arms. I instantly held her hips as she lost balance, and she smiled up at me in thanks as we all piled back into the elevator.

Before I knew it, we were out on the road, Bella and I watching amusedly as Emmett and Rose danced in the front seat as "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas blared through the speakers. I had never seen Rosalie let loose before and I knew it had to be due to the trip and Emmett.

I watched nervously as Emmett boomed, "Show 'em how it's done, Rosie!" while attempting to do the robot while driving. I opened my mouth to protest as soon as his hands left the wheel but was instantly distracted as Bella's form beside me began to move.

I turned instantly to see her hands shooting up into the air to the beat of the song while her hips wiggled around on the seat. A small smile graced my lips as I watched her dance, though she was pretty off beat and all over the place.

To say the drive was entertaining would be an understatement. The whole way there I got the joy of either watching Bella dance silly to songs that played on the radio or watch her sleep when she had worn herself out.

By the time we were just outside of the town that was near our parents house, Rose and Bella had fallen silent, neither of them as enthusiastic about the music or the end of the trip. They were obviously nervous, having been too overwhelmed with the whole idea of a road trip and a celebrated Christmas, that they had forgotten that they were going to meet our parents. As if Esme and Carlisle wouldn't love them both.

I put on my best reassuring smile and pulled Bella's hand away from where she was chewing on her nails. "Bella." I addressed her softly as my free hand cupped her flushed cheek. She was already blushing. "I guarantee they will love you, don't worry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, firstly, it's Carlisle and Esme, they love everyone. And secondly, it's _you_. You know you had me hooked the moment you blushed at me in the elevator?" I said as I stroked her cheek with the pad of my thumb.

Her smiled widened at my statement, though her blush darkened two more shades. She didn't reply to me, but leaned closer so that our faces were an inch apart, our noses brushing together lightly.

"I love you." She finally breathed, and the combination of her words and the feel of her breath on my lips made my heart skip. I hadn't realized it, but we didn't ever vocalize those words as often as I would like, and I was now making it a rule to speak them more often.

"And I love you, Bella." I breathed back just before I closed the distance between us, placing a soft, loving kiss on her lips.

"We're here!" Emmett hollered from the front seat. "Casa de Cullen."

I pulled away from Bella, giving her one more quick kiss before I turned to the familiar cottage that had been my home for four years. Just the sight brought back many memories, mostly of all the mischief all three of us had gotten into with all of the forest open for us to play in. More times then not we came home covered in dirt, having either been out chasing some type of animal or just horsing around with each other.

Esme and Carlisle owned about ten miles of forest in each direction, giving use plenty of land to trek if we ever wanted a good hike or just be secluded to be ourselves. Really, I don't know how we would have coped had we not moved out here. The house was too small to run around with our wings out - even though it had 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a living room, a dinning room, and a basement - so we spent most of our days out in the forest where no one could see us.

"It's beautiful." I heard Bella breath as she bundles further into the new jacket we had bought her. There wasn't snow covering the ground just yet, but I knew that it would be cold and snow at any point. Colorado's weather was unpredictable and different wherever you went, depending on your altitude. I was hoping that it wouldn't snow a lot since we were planning on surprising the girls by taking them to our favorite spot out in the forest.

"My babies!" I heard the familiar squeal of my mother just as I was pulling a few bags from the back of the jeep. I dropped them on the ground beside me and turned, knowing that she would expect a hug the moment she reached us. Sure enough, I was met with the image of Esme running down the front porch with her arms held wide, ready for them to be filled with her "babies".

"Mommy!" Emmett cried as he too dropped his bags and ran to meet her half way, leaving the girls giggling beside me.

Emmett embraced my mother as she giggled with joy, her feet lifting off the ground as he spun her around. After a few twirls, he set her back on her feet gently, then gave her a big kiss on the cheek, whispering to her that he missed her. Emmett was always a mama's boy.

"And which one of these beautiful ladies is your Rose?" Esme asked as her eyes raked over Bella, Rosalie and Alice, who were all standing near the jeep shyly.

Emmett's eyes lit up as if he had totally forgotten they were here and he ran straight for Rose, grabbing her by the waist and dragging her over to Esme.

"This lovely lady is my Rosie." He said proudly as he held her around waist from behind and Rose offered her hand in greeting.

"It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Cullen."

"Oh, pish posh, I'm not old enough to be called Mrs., am I? I adopted the boys when I was only twenty five. Please, call me Esme." My mother said with a twinkling laugh as she opened her arms for a hug from Rose.

"Okay, Esme it is." Rose replied shyly as she pulled away from Emmett to hug her.

"Next!" Esme smiled as she held onto Rosalie's waist and turned to the rest of us.

I chuckled at her enthusiasm and wrapped my arms around Bella, pulling her closer to Esme. "Mom, this is Bella." I said as I kissed Bella's fore head.

"Aww!" Esme squealed as she finally released Rosalie and jumped towards Bella, pulling her into a tight hug. "It's a pleasure to meet the famous Bella. He has spoken so fondly of you, as have Jasper and Emmett of you two." She said the last part as she released her and glanced at Alice and Rosalie.

She smiled happily at Emmett, Jasper and I for a moment, but was brought out of her day dream by Alice.

"Esme!" Alice squealed as she finally gave up the waiting and went to hug Esme herself, dragging Jemward on a leash behind her.

"Alice, I assume. They did mention you were a feisty one." Esme giggled as she held little Alice at her side.

"It's great to finally meet you, Esme. Your babies have spoken so fondly of you. Thank you so much for letting us spend Christmas with you!" Alice said, tears beginning to form in her eyes once she got to the thanks.

"Oh, no need to thank me, dear, it's my pleasure. It will be refreshing to not be the only woman in the house for a change. Plus, I really do need some help decorating. Carlisle is always too busy working to help, not to mention he loathes Christmas trees and decoration. Only thing he does like is mistletoe..." Esme said, already beginning to talk everyones ear off. I smiled fondly at the sight, having missed my chatty mother.

"Scandalous." Alice giggled as she continued to cling to my mother's side and we began to make our way into the house.

"Oh, yes. Carlisle is a fiery one. He hangs mistletoe everywhere. Why just last year, it was in every doorway and we couldn't even make it out of the house! One kiss and the rest is-" Esme continued, but was interrupted by Emmett who threw the suit cases heavily in the foyer, causing a loud sound to echo through the house.

"Mom!" He bellowed in disgust, "I don't want to hear about the antics of my horny father!"

"Emmett!" Esme scolded as she looked at the strewn suitcases. "Do not throw those suit cases down like that! You will scratch my hardwood floors! Pick them up and take them to the rooms!"

"Yes, Ma..." Emmett sighed and Rosalie watched in awe as he picked up the suit cases, grabbed her hand and began to drag her towards the stairs.

"And be ready for a spanking too!" Jasper called behind him, causing everyone to chuckle softly, only for us all to burst into laughter when Esme smacked him in the back of the head.

"You too mister, go put away the bags and meet us girls in the living room." Esme said and then grabbed Alice and Bella's hands to pull them to the kitchen. Bella looked over her shoulder at me, the blush still staining her cheeks, and I smiled and mouthed 'I love you' before she disappeared around the corner.

---

Not an hour later I was sitting in the kitchen, listening to the four women giggle in the living room, an amused and excited smile adorning my face. To say that the girls got along with Esme would be putting it lightly. I was beginning to get concerned about mine, Jasper and Emmett's replacement.

As to why I wasn't with them in the living room would be because I was worried about how I was going to approach Esme about getting that bracelet. Plus, I was waiting for Carlisle to get home from work so he could be my buffer - I knew that whatever Esme's reaction would be, it would be a drastic one. Either one of joy, to where Carlisle would need to calm her excitement, or she would become upset and Carlisle would need to reassure her of certain things.

I was only scared that she would be upset, because, knowing my mother, it would be because she either didn't think I was ready or that it wasn't the right time. And though I disagreed with both those assumptions, I didn't feel like having to reassure to my mother of my undying love for Bella, the girl I had only been dating for two months. She wouldn't understand in the least and I was worried she would flat out refuse to let me give the bracelet to Bella, though a part of me knew Esme wouldn't do such a thing.

"Well, I would have liked to have come home to see my son, whom I hadn't seen in months, with a happier expression...what's the matter, son?" I heard my father's voice from the other side of the kitchen and I looked up, surprised that I hadn't heard his arrival. He was standing in front of the door that led to the back porch, a crooked smile on his lips as he set his briefcase down beside him on the floor.

"Hey, Dad." I smiled and stood up from my stool to greet him. He didn't hesitate as he pulled be tightly to him, clapping me a few times on the back as sighed.

"It's been too long, you need to come visit us more then just holidays." He said with a stern look as he pulled away.

"I know...It's just been a busy few months - getting settled into the apartment, getting used to the new jobs and living in the city..." I trailed off, not really wanting to include the whole situation with the girls.

"And finding love..." Carlisle added in with a smile, having obviously known what I should have included.

"Yeah." I sighed simply in reply, a larger smiled forming on my face at the thought of Bella. It might have been a crazy ride the past few months but I wouldn't give one moment of it up for anything.

"So, why is it that I walked in to see my son looking as if he was dreading something?"

"Well..." I sighed, "I wanted to ask Esme something...and I was a little worried about what her reaction would be."

"You know your mother, she will respond as level headed as possible. She will hear you out before she reacts."

"Yeah, I know. I think it might be what kind of reaction I get from her that is worrying me more..."

"Well why don't we get it over with if you are so worried? Why don't you go grab your mother and meet me in my office? And then you can introduce me to the three lovely ladies my sons have been speaking so fondly of the past month?"

"That'd be great, I need to know if I need to use my back up Christmas present as soon as possible..." I said with a soft chuckle as Carlisle raised an eyebrow in confusion. He simply nodded and we went out separate way, him towards his office and I towards the living room.

Not wanting to linger, I peeked my head through the door to see the girls huddling around Esme who held a photo album of our few years living here. Jasper and Emmett sat quietly across from them, just content to watch their girlfriends coo at the pictured. I couldn't fathom what they were 'oo'ing and 'aw'ing about because the pictures were no older then four years old, from the age of 15 and up.

"Hey, Mom?" I asked quietly, causing everyone to turn to me.

"Yes, honey?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked, trying to convey that this was a casual request and that nothing was wrong. She smiled sweetly at me and handed that photo album to a bouncing Alice and told them she would be back shortly.

"What is it dear?" She asked quietly once we were heading down the hallway towards Carlisle's office.

"I just wanted to ask you something." I said simply as I open the door for her and followed her in.

"Carlisle!" Esme beamed as she walked behind his desk to give him a loving kiss and hug. They shared quiet pleasantries, asking each other of their day and such, and finally turned to me. I suddenly began to get nervous again, the thought that I was about to tell my mother I planned on marrying Bella running frantic in my mind.

"Edward? What's wrong?" Esme asked worriedly as she came to sit next to me on the small couch I sat on in front of Carlisle's desk.

"Nothing's wrong, I promise." I reassured her as I turned in my seat towards her. "So it's Christmas and I was trying to think of the perfect gift to get Bella..."

I paused waiting for her response, wondering if I should flat out ask and not give her the chance to guess what I was trying to say. But clearly, from the blank look my mother was still giving me as she nodded for me to continue, she hadn't guessed anything from my vague comment.

"And...you see I know I've..." I paused, my eyes wandering as I tried to figure a way to say this properly. "I was thinking that...You know I...ugh."

I finally groaned as I ran both of my hands over my face and into my hair. This was impossible, I had so many ways I wanted to explain this, mostly consisting of me explain to my mother of how much I loved Bella, but now I just could seem to get it out right.

Esme chuckled softly. "It's okay Edward. Just say whatever you need to say, I'll listen."

I smiled and took a deep breath, letting my hands fall lumpy from my hair. "I want to give Bella the bracelet."

Deep down, I was kind of expect for her to squeal in excitement and gush to me about how excited and happy she was for me, which was why I was surprised when her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped. Her facial expression clearly read that she was not expecting it and that either she hadn't processed it enough to feel anything yet or she just wasn't initially happy by my request. I desperately hoped it was the former.

"I-I...you..." My mother stuttered as her breathing got heavier and her eyes shifted to Carlisle. I too looked over to my father and found that he was also as surprised as Esme.

"Just...hear me out first, because I know you guys don't know much about Bella. But really, she is amazing. She is sweet, caring and completely selfless. I would be nothing without her... unfortunately, I know that from experience and because of that I have decided that I want to give her this. I want to show to her and to everyone else that this is not something casual... I want her...forever." And as I finished, I hated how corny all of it sounded, but it was exactly how I felt. If I had dumbed it down even a fraction - even when I thought that what I had said wasn't enough - it wouldn't have conveyed to them how much she meant to me. They needed to know exactly what I was feeling.

But still, they both sat there in utter shock, Esme's hands now shaking as her eyes darted around frantically, something that happened with she was in deep thought. I couldn't begin to understand their reaction anymore, not now that I had explain that I understood what the bracelet meant and how much I loved Bella. Why were they so shocked? Did they not trust my judgment? Did they think I wasn't true about this? That I was blinded by "puppy love" or my "first love"?

"I-I...I don't know what to say..." Esme spoke quietly as she ran her hands together. She then looked up at me with curiosity in her eyes. "You're sure?"

"Completely." I said with conviction as I nodded my head and rested my hand over Esme's. She looked down at my hand blankly, obviously her mind still working like crazy.

Finally, she sighed and looked up at me, and though her demeanor showed that she was still confused, upset, shocked - whatever it was - she appeared to have decided that she was going to let it go for now. "Okay. Just let me have some time to process this." She said rather hurriedly as she stood from her seat, shooting Carlisle a look I couldn't understand. "Now...I have to go make a phone call."

My eyebrows furrowed at her abruptness and at the way Carlisle jumped to get my attention as Esme tried to exit quickly. I ignored him though and quickly followed after her down the hallway that ran along the living room and into the kitchen where the phone was. Her small heels clicked as she practically power walked down the hall, me close behind. She passed the doorway to the living room and continued towards the kitchen, but was stopped abruptly from someone addressing her in the living room.

"Esme! Esme!" Alice squealed, having seen and heard her walking down the hallway. Esme stopped and, after a moment, turned with a soft, almost forced, smile as she entered the living room.

"When and where was this taken?!" Alice asked excitedly as she frantically waved her arms for Esme to come closer so that she could take a look at the picture. Esme hesitated for a fraction of a second, her gaze flickering towards the kitchen, before she finally walked across the room to sit in the place Bella made for her beside Alice.

And so I stood in the door way, watching as my mother accounted the very moment she had taken the picture and the whole story behind it, wonder what had just taken place. To Rosalie, Alice and Bella, Esme would have seemed as if she were her normal, cheery self because they didn't know her well enough.

But I could see it. I could see something different in her eyes, she wasn't 100% normal. She was worried about something and was desperate to get to that phone for some reason - obviously to ease her worry about something.

I didn't understand why she was reacting in such a curious way, all because I had declared that I was one day going to marry Bella. I would have either expected her to be sad or happy, if not both, but not this. She was confused about something, completely shocked and caught off guard about my declaration, neither was she happy or sad.

But why? Why was she neither and who, exactly, would she be calling to ease her worry? And why could she not react to this until she did?

* * *

I have a worry, and it might be a silly one, but I believe that I need to work on my conversations between characters...they seem a little short or vague to me... What do you guys thing? Have you noticed? Are you unsatisfied with the banter? Need more depth? Or am I just being rediculous here? Halp!?

Oh! And one more thing, sorry **XXSkittlesXX**. I know you wanted an Alice or Jasper POV, but it just wasn't the right time. I dont think I'm going to even attempt a Jasper...he just seems too complicated. And an Alice will come... sometime in the near future.

Love you guys, for reading even if you don't review.

-_Live4YourLove_


	25. Chapter 24: Eavesdropping

**AN:** I feel awful. Not only because it has almost been a month since my last update(there is no major excuse other than school is hectic) but also because I didn't even get ten reviews. It left me bummed. I understand that it is probably because school started(much like why I don't update as quickly) but it still leaves me frowning. :(

But enough of the sadness! We are getting closer and closer to figuring things out. _You know_, the BIG moment major things start to be revealed...Ya, I'm scared to be honest. I feel like you guys are expecting something phenominal to be their past story and maybe I wont satisfy you...plus it's not very helpful when my reviews drop down by half! Eeek! Plus we are already on chapter 24 and I have sooo much more to the story...stuff I'm really excited and scared to death to write. heh. So expect this story to be SUPER long. My estimate is more than 45...Bad? Good?

But a big big BIG shank you's to: **twird96, Soccer11, XXSkittlesXX, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here(ha! got a little faster at typing that!), MorningSkyeSong(thanks for the encouragement!), bella-cullen1989, jazzie-luvs-me-22, and twilightlova10121.** I wuv my faithful frequent reviewers!

I hate to do this again...because by now I wonder if I sound like an insecure, whiny biotch...but I need to ask. I'm not getting TOO discriptive, am I? I know that sometimes I hate that in stories and I kinda want to get to the point...so tell me if that is something you want me to try and cut down on...if not, I shall continue the way I am!

Chapter 24:Eavesdropping

**BPOV**

I grinned as I padded across the cold wooden floor towards Edward's room, the cool air causing me to shiver. It was so warm in the bed I had been given in the room across the hall from his, but I knew that there was no way I would be able to sleep alone anymore. I had gotten so used to having him hold me as I slept, I didn't think I'd ever sleep well without that strong comfort.

Plus, it wasn't like he had been discreet in telling me that if I wanted, I could sneak into his room or vice versa. He had walked me to my bedroom door saying_ "If you get cold tonight, you know where your blanket is." _with a wink as I stared at him in utter horror, my eyes darting to his mother who was just a few feet away digging through a hall closet for heated blankets.

Of course, once I had gotten over the fact that his mother could have decoded his comment and do something rash like sleep out in the hallway, the comment didn't fail to replay in my mind and make me itch to be by his side. As if I wasn't already planning on sneaking over to him before he offered...

I squeaked as another shiver overtook me, a small breeze of cold air tickling all the way up my bare legs. I was so careful to bring extra warm clothes for everyday activities but for some reason unknown to me, I had forgotten to bring warm pajamas.

Wait, scratch that. I do know why I hadn't thought about it. It was because I was looking forward to wearing the t-shirts that Edward had left in my room, having been excited by the idea of having his familiar sent lull me to sleep if I couldn't have him.

So right now, as I freeze my butt off while trying to get to Edward's room soundlessly, I really wished I had packed warmer pj's so that I wouldn't be walking around in an over sized t shirt and soffes.

I sighed gratefully as I finally made it to the door that seemed so much closer when I peered at it from my bedroom door but so much further when I inched my way towards it at the pace of a snail so that I wouldn't make any noise and get caught by my boyfriends mother. Gently, so as to not let it squeak, I turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Once inside, I softly shut the door behind me and looked up to see Edward grinning crookedly at me from where he laid on his bed. I giggled and began to pad quickly towards his bed but was cut short when my foot made contact with some hard object causing me to squeak and stop dead in my tracks.

The sound of the impact was rather loud and I scrunched my eyes shut for a moment, waiting for any noise to come from any of the other rooms. When all was silent, I peeked my eyes open and found Edward trying to hold in laughter.

I glared silently, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched his eyes rake over me and linger a moment around my bare legs. His eyes grew slightly wider, a look of shock flashing over his features before he quickly averted his eyes back to my face.

And then I saw it again, that same look he had gotten before he had "groped" me. A look that was a blend of many types of emotions and thoughts - though the two most prominent were of torture and desire. It didn't fail to send goose bumps all over my skin and my heart to pick up a faster pace.

Another shiver from me broke us from our staring and Edward quickly lifted the heavy covers of his bed in an invitation for me. "Come on beautiful, it's freezing."

I slipped under the covers and into his arms quickly, wrapping my arms around his waist and my cold feet around his legs. He jumped in surprise and chuckled, his arms circling around my waist, his hand resting on the small of my back.

We both sigh contentedly as our fore heads rested against each other. He smiled crookedly as he bent down and kissed me gently, pulling me close to his body. Surprisingly, his hand slipped lower, resting lightly over my butt.

"Uh, Bella?" He asked hesitantly as I marveled at the feeling of his hand on my bottom. As odd as it sounds, it felt quite nice...

"Yup?"

"You're wearing shorts...right?" His asked, his voice shaking slightly in uneasiness as he tried to peer between us. He couldn't see anything though, because it was too dark and there was no space between us.

"Yes, Edward, I am wearing shorts." I giggled, burying my face in his neck.

"Just making sure..." He mumbled under his breath as we went quiet. I was just about to drift off to sleep - it was awfully comfortable in his arms - when he spoke again.

"So, did you have fun today?" He asked lightly as his hands ran up and down my back.

"Mmhmm." I mumbled, then pulled back to peer at his face in the dim moon light. "I love your mom, she's amazing. Just like I knew she would be."

Edward grinned appreciatively, his lips curving crookedly over his pearly white teeth, causing my eyes to linger there for a moment in a dazzled state. "Yeah, Esme is a wonderful person. Jasper, Emmett and I got lucky."

My smile widened in response as I realized that they did indeed appreciate having Esme. All night long, as we talked to Esme, sharing stories about the guys, I had wondered if they had realized just how lucky they were to have her. She was _the_ perfect picture of a mother. So sweet and caring, never failing to push her endless amounts of love on us even though we are practically strangers to her. She hadn't for one moment scrutinized us, having accepted us from the moment the boys spoke of us on the phone. She was a saint and I was immensely happy that the guys weren't letting their blessing go unnoticed. I would have given a lot to have had a mother like her. Or even a mother at all...

"I'm glad you realize how lucky you are. I hope you didn't give her too much trouble growing up..." I grinned, my thoughts brought back to the pictures of a younger Edward. He looked almost exactly the same, just shorter and a little more scrawny. His hair was the same length, but had been slicked to the side in every picture which was probably Esme's doing.

"You looked so adorable with your hair parted to the side and slicked over!" I giggled as I teasingly tickled his side, not getting any form of response. I had found out that Edward was virtually unticklish...much to my demise.

"Oh wow, don't remind me. Esme hated my wild hair and would always fix it for me in the mornings until I had enough heart to tell her I didn't like it and wanted to style my own hair...which was when I was seventeen..." Edward said, his voice lowering slightly as his story got more embarrassing.

"Aw!" I cried and reached up to try and pinch his cheek. He quickly threw his head back and grabbed my wrist, pinning it to my side as he rested his fore head on min and glared playfully at me.

"It's not funny." He said seriously, though he chuckled silently. "We were lucky to have her, but it was sometimes horrible having such a sweet mother. You couldn't make her upset or else it would break your heart. You haven't seen Esme's sad face, it's unbearable."

"I can imagine." I sighed as he released his grip on my wrist and placed them back around my waist. He then began rubbing my back softly, much to my delight, but when his arms ran higher, I was reminded of the sore ache in between my shoulders.

I groaned loudly as he gently began to rub my back between my shoulder blades. Not hard enough to elicit the..."inappropriate" sounds but enough for it to be pleasurable. "It already hurts and it's only been a day!" I whined pathetically as I moved my arms around his back to reciprocate.

"I know, but we can most likely sneak off sometime tomorrow so that we can have some privacy to stretch. We can just tell Esme we are going to show you guys some trails in the forest or something." He said as pulled me closer so that his face was buried in the side of my neck. He began to groan quietly as I continued to rub his back, the sound that vibrated across the sensitive skin of my neck causing me to shiver.

"Is that how you guys got around when you were living here? Stretching your wing in the forest?" I breathed, my body reacting to him as he began to softly kiss my neck.

"Mmm." He mumbled in response, nodding his head absently as he brushed a few strands of hair away from my neck, his lips never parting from my skin.

I hummed in approval as the subject was dropped and we spent the rest of the night holding each other. Well, _I_ did most of the holding while he devoured every inch of my neck, continually humming or moaning in delight, causing me to do the same.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to a stiff back and a heavy arm slung over my stomach. Edward was lying beside me, his face buried in the crook of my neck, his shallow, soft breaths blowing across my skin. His arm wasn't lazily slung over my stomach, but was actually curled tightly around me in a possessive way.

I smiled and turned my head, giving him a soft kiss on his fore head. He hummed in his sleep in response, his arm curling even tighter around me as he licked his lips and buried his face deeper into my neck.

I sighed in response, the safe feeling of having his body curled around mine possessively making my heart swell. I lightly ran my hand over his arm that was wrapped around me, just simply enjoying the moment as much as I could until I heard the sound of dishes clanking in the kitchen downstairs.

I gasped, having realized that I probably should have woken up a lot earlier and snuck back into my room. The last thing I wanted was to be caught by Carlisle who just might decide to wake Edward up early to do "father-son" stuff or even get stuff ready for our trip to go find a Christmas tree.

"Edward!" I whispered hurriedly as I tried to squirm my way out of his hold on me.

He groaned rather loudly, causing me hurry my movements in case someone outside his door heard. For a moment his grip loosened and I quickly pulled his arm off and began to roll away from him. I didn't get far though, and was pulled back when he quickly grabbed me around the waist.

"Hey!" He chastised sleepily as he pulled me back to his chest, burying his face into the back of my neck. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm trying not to get myself kicked out of the house!" I whispered loudly as I continued to squirm his arms.

"Whose gunna kick you out?" He mumbled, his voice causal and sleepy. I growled in frustration, wonder how in the world he could still sound half asleep but have such a death grip on me.

"Your parents when they find I slept in their son's bed last night!"

"Mmm...you're so silly." Edward hummed off handedly as he then began to settle himself more comfortably into my back, as if he had somehow settled my fears with that comment.

"Edward! I'm seriously, let me go!" I hissed as I turned in his grip, my plan to push against his chest in hopes that I could break his grip.

He moaned and groaned sleepily, and instantly crushed me into his chest again as soon as I was turned. I didn't even get a chance to pull my arms between us, my arms now pinned to my side as he huffed sleepily into my neck and began to drift back off to sleep.

And with that I forfeited, deciding that because Edward really wanted me here, he wouldn't risk getting me kicked out or scolded by Esme. We stayed like that for a while, me just holding him as he fell back asleep. I was already too awake to go back to sleep, so I just enjoyed laying there and rubbing his back soothingly.

Eventually he began to wake back up, his sighs, moans, and groans causing me to giggled as his hands began to lazily run over my sides and my back.

"Are you finally up?" I asked, smiling down at him as he peered up at me through have lidded eyes.

"Uhh..." He breathed, just staring blankly at me. "No." And with that he quickly ducked his head back into my neck and buried his face there with some more groans.

I giggled in response but it instantly turned into a shriek as I felt his teeth graze my skin. As soon as the loud sound left my mouth, I clamped my hands over my mouth in horror and tired to pull away from Edward.

"Nope!" Edward shook his head in refusal as he tightened his hold on me even more. This time I didn't just find his grip annoying but now it made me angry. I growled under my breath and tried once again to push him off but decided that other tactics were needed.

"Ow! Edward, you don't have to hold me so tight!" I squeaked with a low hiss as I let my body go slack as if I was trying to reduce the pain he was inflicting on me. I couldn't help the amused grin that was placed on my face at just how horrible my lie sounded even to me, but I knew that Edward would believe me. He was so gullible in this area, though I knew it wasn't right to use his protectiveness of me against him.

"Bella!" He gasped as he let me go and pulled away to look in my face. I didn't stay to see his surprise or guilty face, even if I knew it would disappear the moment I laughed running out the door.

"Ha!" I cried in victory and began to quickly roll away from him. But in my rolling haste I rolled right off the side of the bed, a loud thud sounding through the room as my body hit the cold hard wood floor. I didn't waste a second as I jumped back up to me feet, taking a quick glance and Edward's shock and amused face, and made a run for the door.

"Bellaaa! Don't leave me!" Edward cried dramatically, causing me to giggle as I closed the door behind me and looked from left to right down the hall.

When I looked to my right, I saw Alice just exiting the room next door, looking still half asleep. She peered down my way with heavy eyes, her short spiky hair in disarray around her head. She was wearing a massive sized hoodie, the arms so long you couldn't even see her hands, and pair of plaid male pajama pants that pooled around her ankles.

"It was cold..." She mumbled dully as she looked away from me and began to drag her feet to her room down the hall.

* * *

After I had quickly taken a shower and dressed in warm clothes, I walked across the hall and knocked on Edward's door lightly with my knuckles. Not two seconds later the door flew open to reveal a grinning Edward who looked to have just stepped out of the shower. He was wearing a long sleeve, light blue t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans, his hair was wet and hanging down in his eyes.

"Let's go!" He said quickly as he shut the door behind him and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the hall towards the kitchen.

As we neared the kitchen, I smelt and heard the preparing of breakfast, the smell causing my stomach to growl angrily.

"Mom!" Edward slightly barked hurriedly and I peered around him to see Esme standing in front of the phone that hung on the wall, the phone extended in the air between her and the receiver, as if she was about to make a call. She quickly turned her head around to see Edward, her expression anxious and tired.

"Oh..." Esme said hesitantly as she slowly put the phone back on the wall. "Good morning, dear."

"Hi, Esme!" I grinned adoringly as I peered around Edward and under his arm, my own making their way around him to hug his back to me. Her gaze flickered to my face for a moment - her expression didn't seem right, almost blank and calculating - then it lowered to where the palms of my hands laid on Edward's chest.

I blushed instantly and pulled away. I hadn't thought my act was considered inappropriate, and I probably would have been okay with her simply noticing it if Esme would have actually smiled. But she didn't like I had thought she would, and though she didn't look mad, she didn't looked pleased either.

After a few moment of awkward silence - Edward staring suspiciously at his mother, Esme staring off into space with a thoughtful look on her face and me just watching the two go off into their own little world - Esme finally broke out of her trance and motioned for us to sit at the kitchen table. "Silly me, you both must me starving. Here, sit. I made pancakes, eggs and bacon."

"Thank you Esme, it looks wonderful." I said in wonder as I stared down at the large piles of food. Still in my food daze, I fell into a seat and my hands instantly went across the table to grab the food but was interrupted as Edward grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up so that he could sit in my seat with me in his lap.

I didn't even bother to look at him or even register the fact that I was sitting on my boyfriends lap _in front of his mother _as I reached across the table for the pancakes, piling four large pieces onto my plate. I then topped it with a hefty amount of warm syrup and began to dig in.

Halfway through I was moaning and sighing in delight when I realized that it was awfully quiet in the kitchen, not even the sound of Edward eating or of Esme continuing her cooking.

With a fork full of pancake hanging in the air between my open mouth and the half eaten plate, I looked up and into the eyes of Esme who was watching me quietly, her expression surprised and still guarded. Having broken out of my feeding frenzy, I then noticed that Edward was rather still behind me, having not grabbed himself any breakfast.

I peered over my shoulder and at his amused face. "I'm sorry, did you want some of this?"

He chuckled loudly, throwing his head back before he rested his cheeky grin on my face. His eyes were so full of adoration, love and amusement I couldn't help but grin in response. "No, love, you go ahead. Wouldn't want you starving on me now, would I?"

"Heh." I chuckled, popping the fork of pancake in my mouth before I bent forward to kiss him chastely.

Eventually everyone else filed down the stairs for breakfast, Alice looking cold even though she was still wearing Jasper's giant hoodie, Jasper looked mellow as usual, Rosalie looked tired as she leaned against Emmett's side, and of course Emmett was wide awake with his dimply grin stretched across his face.

"Foood!" Emmett boomed as he jumped forward, causing Rosalie to almost fall when he was no longer there to rest against. "Thank you, mommy!"

"Your welcome, honey." Esme said, her expression finally turning less tense as Emmett pulled her into a hug for a millisecond before racing to the kitchen table.

The rest of breakfast was mostly quiet. Alice, Rosalie and myself often tried to strike a conversation with Esme or add her to our crazy banter but she seemed to be somewhere else. I often caught her staring off randomly as if in deep thought or even occasionally glancing at the phone.

I hadn't thought anyone had noticed, since they were all either tired, cold or stuffing their facing with food, but when I looked behind me at Edward, he was practically staring his mother down as she stood there silently watching us, almost scrutinizingly.

After every last bite of the massive breakfast was consumed, everyone started to help clean up. When that was done everyone went in search for their jackets, gloves and hats for our trip out into the forest to cut down a Christmas tree.

Ten minutes later, after Edward had tucked me securely into my massive winter jacket, we were on our way out the back door and towards the frost covered forest. Carlisle was leading the group, heading towards a small dirt path near the edge of the woods, followed by Emmett who held a large axe in his hand, swinging it carelessly at his side as he whistled. I wasn't completely sure who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to hand that bonehead an axe, but it was now becoming my mission to get it back without getting my head accidentally chopped off.

I chuckled lightly as I followed them towards the forest, having seen Alice and Rosalie following Emmett. They had noticed after getting closer to Emmett that he held the axe and had instantly slowed their steps, giving him a good few yards head start.

"Who the hell gave him the axe?" Edward growled with a chuckled as he came to my side, grabbing my hand in his own. I giggled and grasped his hand tighter in mine as I leaned against him as we walked.

"I have no clue, but we better get it back before he hurts himself. Would be hard to explain to Carlisle - the doctor - how his son's flesh wounds heal in minutes."

I expected a witty comment back but Edward's steps faltered and he stopped, pulling on my hand to bring me closer. "I was actually thinking about that..." He said hesitantly as he looked to my face, though I could tell he wasn't actually looking at me and that his mind was somewhere else.

"About what?"

"I probably should talk to Emmett and Jasper about it first, but I think you're opinion means as much to me as theirs. So, I was actually thinking about telling Carlisle and Esme about...us..." He said, finally really looking at me to gauge my reaction.

My reaction though, wouldn't have shown much. I wasn't really surprised, because I had actually been thinking the same thing since the day they told us that Carlisle and Esme _didn't _know. Since then I had begun to weigh the pros and cons of telling them, mostly because I thought it would be a good idea to have an outsiders opinion and view on our situation. Especially now that the problem with James had arisen and also now that I had met Carlisle and Esme and realized just how much they loved the boys.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." I said, smiling brightly up at him.

"You do?" He spoke quietly, his eyebrows furrowed as he watched me curiously, as if expecting me to laugh and tell him I was kidding, that it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.

"Yeah, of course. I've been thinking about it myself actually, for a while now. I just never said anything because I didn't think it was my place..." I said, looking down shyly for a moment before bringing my gaze back up to his.

Edward bent down, pressing his crooked smile down softly on my lips as he breathed, "You silly girl, of course it is your place. You are my life now. Every part of it includes you, understood?"

"Yes." I whispered as I began to swoon at his words and how sweetly they were delivered.

"Good." He breathed against my lips as I opened my mouth slightly to breath him in. He then gave me one lingering kiss before pulling back and bringing my hand to his lips.

When his chilled lips made contact with my bare hand, I then realized that I had forgotten my gloves in the kitchen where I had set them down so that he could help me slip into my jacket. Edward noticed too and frowned as he felt how cold my hands were against his lips.

"Where are your gloves?" He asked as he took both of my hands into his gloved ones and began to rub them together.

"I forgot them in the kitchen." I sighed, "I'll go run in and get them."

"You sure?" Edward frowned, "I can go get them for you."

"Nah, I can get them. Wait here." And with that I sprinted off back towards the house. I entered through the side door that we had left out of and began making my way to the kitchen when I was stopped short by a hushed voice in the kitchen.

I'm not sure what made me stop - probably the weird way Esme was acting all morning - but I ended up standing outside the entrance of the kitchen, listening to her talk quietly into the phone.

_"Christopher, is there something you needed to tell me?"_ Esme asked, her voice a little irritated and snappy. I couldn't quite hear the voice on the other end, but Esme continued with a soft gasp.

_"You didn't think I should have known about this a long time ago?"_

_"It's them isn't it?" _She paused, taking a deep breath._ "It's 1, 3, and 5, isn't it?"_

Her words sent the breath whooshing out from my lungs and my heart to stutter. It caught me completely off guard, so much so that I didn't know what to think, where to start. I just stood there, shaking my head frantically in confusion and disbelief. I didn't get much time to think it over more, because Esme's voice broke through my chaotic thoughts.

_"I would have liked some kind of warning, Christopher. I didn't think it would have been so soon..." _She paused for a few moments, causing me to wonder for a moment if she had hung up. "_It's amazing really, to see how...connected they already are."_

By this point I couldn't catch my breath and quite frankly I didn't want to hear anymore. Even if by standing here longer I heard something that connected all the dots in my crazy life, I didn't want to hear it. I wasn't ready yet. Not now, when no one else was hearing this. How would anyone believe me? How can I even believe that what I'm hearing is right?

Just when Esme was going to answer to whoever was on the phone, this "Christopher" guy, I quickly slinked my way back down the hall and began to walk back with heavy feet. "Esme?" I called loudly and as confidently as I could.

_"Oh! I have to go, we will talk about this later." _I heard her say before the sound of the phone being quickly hung back on the wall reached my ears. When I made it around the corner and into the kitchen, I was shocked by what I saw.

The way she looked at me, from the moment I met her, had completely changed. It wasn't that she looked at me in a degrading or even rude way before, but now it held so much more. It showed so much adoration, sympathy, and love she had for me. It was almost the same way she looked at Edward, Emmett and Jasper. A way a mother looks at her own child.

"Esme?" I whispered hesitantly as a smile grew on her face.

"Yes, hun? What is it you needed?" She said warmly as she moved across the table to stand next to me, placing a warm, comforting hand on my elbow.

"I...I forgot my gloves..." I whispered again as I hesitantly pointed over to my white woven gloves that sat on the kitchen table.

I wasn't freaked out by her sudden change towards me per se, but I was a little taken off guard at how much I loved the change. I had never had anyone - besides Edward, though his loving gaze was more lover than parental - look at me that way. It felt nice, like I could actually see Esme as a mother figure.

"Oops!" Esme giggled joyously as she went to snatch the gloves off the table for me. "Here you go, that would be a horrible thing to forget."

"Yeah..." I said, nodding as I took the gloved from her and slipped them on. "Well..."

"You go and be careful. Be sure to tell Emmett that he knows he's not allowed to carry the axe." She said with a laugh as she followed my slow, cautious walk back to the side door.

"I will." I laughed shortly as I walked through the door and towards Edward who was waiting patiently at the edge of the woods.

"And that he can't cut down the tree either!" Esme called after me. I giggled at that, knowing that Esme understood that if she didn't cover every base, Emmett would find a loophole.

"I will! I promise there will be no casualties while we are gone. I will bring your babies back safe!" I called back to her with a final wave.

"It's about time." Edward teased as he shuffled from foot to foot, his cheeks and nose pink from the cold. It was utterly adorable.

"What are you staring at, beautiful?" He chuckled as he tapped me under my chin.

"Your nose is pink." I giggled with a blush.

"Well your cheeks are pink." He said back in the same girly giggle as he reached up to cup my face in his hands, then bent down to brush out noses together.

The rest of the trip was more fun than I would have thought. We hiked for a little while because Carlisle had said there were better trees farther into the forest. The whole way there Emmett would run off randomly, to the point where no one knew where he went, and would return when everyone least expected it screaming his head off. It scared the shit out of us every time.

The trip back to the house, lugging the humongous tree, was a lot more quiet. I didn't enjoy it as much because it gave me time to think, something I was too scared to do now with what I had heard from Esme.

She knew. Somehow she already knew who or maybe even what we were. And if she knew that than she had to know that the boys were like us too.

But how? When did she find out? Who was this Christopher guy? Did _he_ know our story? Was he part of that story? If so, was he good or bad? Did he know anything about James?

So many more question added to the millions of others. I felt even more confused and scared. How many other close personal friends already knew about us?

That question scared me most of all. We obviously seemed to be the only ones left in the dark. What was this to them? Some kind of game? We lose our memory, so they just let us go and see how well we do with that burden on our shoulders?

"Bella?" Edward asked as he watched me worriedly, "What's the matter?"

Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle and him were carrying the massive tree through the forest still, but I could tell that we were getting closer to the house now that the trees began to thin out.

"Nothing." I said, forcing a smile as I walked closer to him, slipping my hand in his.

He continued to watch me for a moment, making sure I really was okay and after a moment he smiled in relief and turned his attention back to the heavy tree he was holding.

And so his worry for me brought me to my next concern. What was I going to tell Edward? Would he believe me? Would _I_ believe me? If he did, what would he think? What would he do?

Just thinking of what it might look like or feel like coming from his perspective - being Esme's adopted son - made my heart ache. This could be horrible news to him. There were so many things he could now assume about his mother and probably his father. It would hurt him...and I didn't want any part in that.

But how could I _not _tell him? He had a right to know, it was _his_ parents. But then again..._I _wasn't supposed to know. _I_ had eavesdropped on Esme...Oh god, I eavesdropped. How am I going to explain that one to him?

* * *

**AN**: Keep look out for a one-shot I may possibly post. I couldn't get my sister to read it in time for the end of the contest which is up by midnight tonight I think. So I'm scared because sometimes a part in a story might seem super cool in my head, but when she reads it she's like _"WTF that's kinda stupid, Carlye."_ So I always like her to read it so she can put me in line. It's not a big contest, no real amazing prizes but I figured I wanna start small.

**Beautiful Disaster**: Tragedy strikes best friends Edward and Bella, when Bella is attacked. The accident leaves her pregnant, but Bella is strong and decides to keep the baby. During her pregnancy, Edward decides it is time to reveal his feelings for Bella and hopes to take the role as the babies father. Fluffy and cute. Starts when Bella is already seven months pregnant. No angst, just fluff!

That is the summary I quickly scrounged up...it was hard to discribe. I'm not going to say it's amazing, because it was my attempt at a third person view and I just don't know if it flowed right because it was written over a long period of time. But, what the hale, why not post it anyways? So check it out and feel free to be brutally honest and tell me it sucks.


	26. Chapter 25: Delivering the News

AN: Again... another late update, I seriously feel horrible. But these chapter are going to be taking me longer to write, especially as they get closer to big important scenes...I'm super scared I'm losing readers or will, in the future, loose them...paranoia...it's brutal and unpleasant. That's why I crave the reviews, they give me the boost I need.

BUT I got 12 reviews for last chapter! Yaahaaay! :) Anyhoo, thanks to everyone who reviewed...sorry, I'm going to be lazy and not say all the names and I really thought I'd hurry and post this. So no big AN before hand, but I DID WIN THAT ONE-SHOT CONTEST! Chyeah! So if you haven't already, go check out my one-shot: **Beautiful Distaster**. It's major gushy and full of fluff, I didn't think ppl would like it, but they did! Surprisingly! :)

Oh and I posted this without reading it over one last time, which is something you all should know by now that I hate to do. But I really needed to hurry and post this, so if there are any mistakes that I looked over, feel free to tell me!

_Disclaimer: Not mine. (Just thought I'd do that since I haven't been.)_

Chapter 25: Delivering the News

**BPOV**

From the moment we had gotten over the fuss of where to place the tree, whether or not it was crooked, or much of the trunk should be cut off, I was seriously regretting ever stopping to listen to Esme's conversation. Not that I hadn't regretted it from the moment I heard what she said...it was just now I was really,_ really regretting_ it.

I was never a good lier, so I knew for a fact I couldn't be able to keep my emotions off of my face. To put it simply, I was feeling sick. From the one, short conversation I had over heard, I held so much for information. Held so many more questions that needed to be answered. It was a large weight on my shoulders, especially when I knew that at some point I would have to tell someone.

I knew everyone could see something was wrong because I wasn't as enthusiastic over the big event of decorating the tree. It was my first time decorating a Christmas tree...

_And I wouldn't even be able to enjoy it._

But it surprised me that no one said anything. They continued to shoot me random glances as everyone bounced around the room, arguing about what to put on the tree, but they never asked me what my problem was.

Esme was even more lively than when we had first gotten here. She practically squealed every sentence, shooting everyone award winning smiles and taking every chance to compliment one of us or pull us into a hug. Her whole affection towards Alice, Rosalie and I had changed. It was intensified by ten, and I had to admit it was not helping my sickness at all. Her enthusiasm towards us - obviously having been changed now that she knew we were like her "babies" - had constantly reminded me of what I had don't and how I would have to tell Edward.

Even Carlisle had changed. Before he had been polite and seemed to be genuinely happy that his sons had found such "beautiful and respectable young ladies" but had seemed more reserved, having not taken any initiative to join in our conversations. But now, after Esme had most likely told him of her findings, he was more attentive to us. He still didn't speak much - though I believed that that was just how he was - but he would smile more widely at us and compliment us more often.

It was pretty late by the time we had the tree almost fully decorated, after having a little scuff between Emmett and Rosalie when Emmett wouldn't stop eating the popcorn they were using for the strings of popcorn to wrap around the tree. Every time she would slap his hand and tell him to stop, he would sigh an okay, only to get caught trying to sneak a few more when "they continued to tempt him with its delicious, buttery sent".

It was around five in the evening when we were finishing up and waiting for dinner to be ready and I was beginning to feel even worse in the fact that no one even cared to ask why I was acting weird.

And so now, I was sat in between Edward and Emmett, staring blankly down at the plate packed full of food - Esme now knew us girls had a hardy appetite - while my stomach rolled in protest. My hands were shaky, I was feeling light headed and all I wanted to do at the moment was scream, _"I know you know what we are, Esme! Yes, I eavesdropped on your damn conversation! Big woopdy freakin' do! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed."_

Holding this secret - this information - was killing me. I was freaked out, scared, and worried. Freaked out by the fact that Esme probably knew a lot about us and probably even knew about the boys before they adopted them. Scared because, quite frankly, I wanted to go back to the days where I knew nothing. I never realized just how good being in the dark felt until the moment scary information was thrust upon you, forcing you to guess and watch your back every second, wondering when something else would happen, when you would find out someone else was watching you, knowing who and what you were. And then worried about how the boys would react to this information.

They could very well feel betrayed by Carlisle and Esme and maybe even doubt their love for them. How could I just spout out this information knowing full well how they would react? How could I keep it from them though?

"Bella, honey, what's the matter? You haven't touched your food." Esme's soft, caring voice broke me from my deep brooding.

I halted playing with my food and looked up to find all eyes on me. Esme's expression of worry was comforting but at the same time unbearable. Every little way she expressed her love towards me reminded me of _why _she suddenly felt so strongly towards me.

Of course, I instantly blushed and ducked my head, trying desperately to find an excuse as to why I wasn't eating. "I don't feel good." I blurted out before I had a second to realize what I said.

If I had taken but a moment to think before I talked, I would have realized how horrible of a decision saying that was. I had never, in my entire life, been ill. We had come to the conclusion that we couldn't get sick. Ever. So they would either automatically believe I was lying or that I truly was sick, for the first time in my life, and go all ape shit worrying over me.

I couldn't decide which option I liked better...

"Oh my god! Bella? What's wrong?" Alice breathed as she dropped her fork and tried to get me to look her in the eyes. I avoided it though, ducked my head further, both in shame and to avoid eye contact with anyone. I wanted the other reaction now, this one made me feel even more guilty.

"Bella? What hurts!?" Then came Rosalie's worried voice not a second after Alice's. I finally peeked up from under my lashes and took in the faces of the few who hadn't reacted yet - Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper and Edward.

_Well you got what you wanted..._

All of them, including Edward, looked extremely doubtful, giving me the _"you're full of crap"_ look. Of course Edward's doubtful expression was more softer, compared to Emmett and Jasper's because he was most likely already guessing why I would ever lie about such a thing.

_Now he is going to worry until the moment I get the courage to tell him...Great._

"Bella, what seems to be the matter?" Came Emmett's fake concerned voice next.

I turned to see that he had dropped his fork and now had his elbows resting on the table, his head resting on his closed fists as he gave me a condescending smile.

"Uhm...my head hurts a little. Ah....A-And my stomach doesn't feel good." I stuttered out, both from the intensity of all the eyes on me and from the embarrassment of knowing half of the table knew I was full of shit. I sounded like a complete moron and began to wish we hadn't taken the axe away from Emmett earlier today. Then maybe he would have accidentally decapitated me and I wouldn't have to be here at this moment.

"Let me get you some medicine...and you should probably go get some rest." Esme said as she began to get up from her seat. She was stopped though by Edward who stood too, placing his hand on her elbow to stop her.

"No, Mom, that's alright. You finish eating, I'll take care of her." He said and then turned to me. I couldn't depict what he was thinking, his face showed no emotion as he helped me out of my chair with a gentle hand and began to lead me down the hall and towards the stairs.

With every step I began to get more nervous and my heart began to beat erratically inside my chest. I knew Edward hear it too, because he turned to glance at me for a moment before he pushed through the door into his room.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, he turned to me, placing gentle hands on either side of my face. "Now, before I end up making myself sound like a jerk if you really are telling the truth, I'm going to ask you: Do you really feel ill?"

And just looking into his beautiful green eyes and the way he held my face so gently, I knew I couldn't lie even if I tried. Not only would it sound like a major lie, but I could just imagine how he'd react to me blatantly lying in his face.

"No, I feel fine." I finally sighed in shame, letting my eyes fall from his.

"Then what's wrong?" He asked, his voice softer this time as he gently stroked my cheek.

At his question my heart started to pick up pace again as I imagined telling him about what I did and what I knew. What if he ended up hating the delivery boy - or girl in this case - simply because I was the one to tell him? I knew for a fact he would be angry at his parents...I didn't want to be the first to receive the anger when it surfaced.

Not only would I be first to witness his anger, but I would most likely also have to be subjected to the look of betrayal. I knew that even if he realized there could be a reasonable explanation as to why his parent didn't tell them they knew, I knew that for a split second I would see that cross his mind. I would see that heartache and hurt in his eyes. And I didn't ever want to see that.

But then again, as I realize the kitchen was exactly below us and I could still hear the soft clattering of dishes, they could probably hear every word coming from my mouth. Well, Alice, Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett would be able to if they were listening. And telling from the lack of conversation coming from them, there was no doubt they were listening.

Perhaps I could kill five birds with one stone.

_No pun intended._

"Um...I don't know exactly how to say it...I-I..I'm scared." I breathed as I looked everywhere but at his face. I was shaking now, even though I had spoken so little and so vague.

"Scared? Bella, what is it?"

_Options. Options._

Quick and easy? Or slow and precise? First option could have a worse affect; could possibly be too sudden for him to handle. But then again, could I handle the long drawn out description? Was there a halfway point between the two?

"Uhm...You see, earlier when I came back inside to get my gloves, I heard Esme on the phone..." I started hesitantly as I held my palms together in front of my lips and watched him.

His eyes almost immediately sharpened and he watched my face even more intently. His eyebrows furrowed and a look of almost knowingness crossed his face as he nodded his head for me to continue.

_What did he know?_

"And, uh, I did a bad thing." I said, resisting the urge to giggle at how ridiculous I just sounded. Like I was a child telling their parents that they had done something naughty.

_Unfortunately, there wouldn't be any spanking involved. Heh._

"What did you hear?" Edward said, as he pulled my hand away from my mouth when I had began chewing on my nail.

"Something...big. Very, _very_ big." I mumbled incoherently as I finally realized there was nothing left for me to say. Nothing else for me to ramble on about to prolong the inevitable. I just had to say it, and from the sick feeling growing in my stomach I knew I had to do it quickly before I met my breakfast again.

"She knows. Esme knows, about all of us. About...what we are." I said quickly, so quickly that I wasn't sure he'd understood me. But I didn't need his reaction to know it was heard by everyone else.

The moment the words left my mouth the sounds of choking and utensils hitting plates reached my ears. I could clearly hear the sound of little Alice, plus a few others, choking on whatever element was lodge in their esophagus the moment they gasped in shock at my words. Also, I could hear the heightened heartbeat of Esme as she began to worry about everyone's health and the weird behavior that threatened it.

Okay, so maybe telling him now wasn't as good an idea as I thought it would be. But, seriously, what would anyone expect? This was a huge weight off my shoulders. I was so worried and freaked out by this that it was making me feel physically ill. It was only expected that I would take the first chance I could get to get it out in the open.

"What?...How...Wha-," Edward was clearly flabbergasted. His face showed absolutely nothing. As if he didn't even know how to react yet, and quite frankly I wouldn't expect him to for a while._ I _still hadn't processed it; _I _didn't even know how I felt about it.

"What did you hear?" Edward finally managed to say, just as the sound of voices reached our ears from downstairs.

_"Emmett? Jasper? What's wrong?"_ Esme spoke softly, her voice was the only other sound in the entire house. Edward and myself had gone quiet at the sound of her voice and the other had been quiet from the moment they stopped choking.

"She was talking to someone named Christopher," I started without waiting to see if anyone downstairs would answer Esme. But as I spoke, I heard nothing from them, so I continued, "She asked him if we - meaning Alice, Rosalie and I - were 1, 3 and 5."

"_What_!?" Edward hissed in response, his most evident expression now disbelief.

Not a moment later, I heard the sound of multiple chairs being scraped against the floor as everyone stood from their seat.

"I have to pee!" Alice screeched before I heard the sound of her skittering footsteps as she ran towards the stairs.

"I uh, forgot I left my hair curler on..." Rosalie mumbled as she then followed Alice.

"Uhm, I'm going to help Rose!" Was Emmett brilliant excuse, followed by Jasper's awkward, "Uh, _yeah_..." before he walked away too.

After every ridiculous excuse that they laid out, I began to feel even worse. I had totally screwed everything up. I had precious information, fragile information, and I had delivered it horribly. I had caused complete chaos right in front of Esme and Carlisle.

Edward didn't say anything as he continued to stare past me in deep thought. A moment passed and the door to his room flew open. Alice came barging in the room and towards us, appearing to already have a mouthful of questions, but was stopped when Edward turned sharply around and stalked out of the room, past the growing group in the hallway.

"We can't talk about this here!" Edward barked in annoyance before everyone followed after him towards two large glass doors at the end of the hallway. He pushed them open to reveal a balcony, and without even slowing, he jumped onto railing and off the side, falling gracefully down to the ground below.

We all followed suit, barely making any noise as we landed, and then followed Edward into the dark forest. The cold air assaulted me instantly, causing me to shiver, but I ignored it. I was already shaking from all of that was happening. I couldn't believe that I had told him at such an inconvenient time._ What was I thinking?_

We stopped in a small clearing, the only light coming from the full moon above us. If I wasn't so focused on everyone else than I would have thought being out here was scary.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Emmett bellowed as he looked around at everyone and settled on me. "Please tell me you are joking? If so, it would be really fucking appreciated if you laughed now...anytime now..."

I swallowed past the large lump forming in my throat and shook my head 'no'. Everyone just continued to stare at me hard, some looking angry and frustrated, others looking down right confused.

"You're serious?" Emmett whispered as he stopped glaring at me and looked to be almost begging me to say no, that I wasn't serious.

"I am." I breathed as I held my arms together, tucking my hands under my chin both to keep them warm and from fidgeting. "She asked him if Rose, Alice and I were 1, 3 and 5. That can only mean she knows about the tattoos, and if she knows about that, then she had to know about us because no one else knows about them. She also said something about how amazing it was to see us already so connected to each other."

"How can they know? How _long_ have they known?" Jasper wondered out loud to himself as he glanced around at everyone frantically.

Unfortunately, we didn't get much time to think over that question before we heard Esme's voice calling out to us from the back door to the house. Hearing her worried, frantic voice sent a wave of nausea through me, knowing that it was all my fault. Both for ever listening to her private phone call and delivering the news in such an inconvenient time. I should have waited until after they had gone to bed.

"Bella, I can't believe you told us this_ now_! What the hell were you thinking!?" Rose almost shrieked, but she was sure to keep her voice low enough so that it didn't carry over to the house and give away our location to Esme. "You couldn't have waited and told us _any other time _but now! What the hell are we suppose to tell Carlisle and Esme to explain what just happened!?"

Her words, the harsh tone she used and the way everyone seemed to glare at me in agreement brought tears to my eyes. No matter how much I deserved it, it still wouldn't have made the feeling even worse; having all my close friends - my family - seem so angry and disappointed in me.

I slip my hands from underneath my chin and to either side of my face, pushing away the tears and the few pieces of hair that stuck to my wet face as I did. "I know!" I sobbed, my body shaking as I looked away from their angry eyes and down to my feet. "I didn't mean...I just got so....and I was scared...I-I-I..."

By the end of my pathetic, sobbing rant, all I could stutter out was _I _repeatedly, before I felt strong hands grip the tops of my arms and pull me into their chest. I didn't have to see to know who it was and I instantly wrapped my arms around his chest, burring my face into his warmth.

"Back off!" Edward shouted out with a vicious growl, causing even me to shiver at the sound. His voice was as harsh and angry as I had ever heard it before, it was actually frightening to hear yet incredibly comforting.

"I'm sorry!" I said again into his chest as I tighten my hold on him. I felt him place his face into my hair as he started to gently rub my back. "I couldn't keep it inside any longer. Just being the only one to know was horrible. I was so scared."

"Shhh." He hushed softly, "I understand, _they_ will also if they know what's good for them." At the last part his words had turned into a growl as he lifted his head towards our friends.

"You're right, Edward." Came Alice's soft voice, "I can understand how knowing something big like that can eat at you until you cant stand it anymore... I'm so sorry, Bella."

I then felt her comforting little hand on my shoulder as she patted me in sympathy. I was about to reply with my own apology, when Esme called out to us once again. We all fell silent for a moment, all of us going into our own thoughts of the dreaded confrontation with Esme.

I had no idea what we were going to tell her. How were we to explain the fact that Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper had all, for some strange and unspoken reason, decided to leave dinner and come upstairs to Edward and me, where we all just ran out of the house and into the woods?

"Come on." Edward spoke softly as he began to pull me towards the way back to the house. "We will think of something."

* * *

"What in heavens name is going on!?" Esme asked as soon as we appeared from the woods. I gazed around at everyone else to see they had all composed themselves well, to the point that their expressions looked completely normal.

"Nothing, Ma." Emmett said, his voice easily controlled with his normal tone of joy as he walked over to Esme and put his massive arm around her. Oddly enough, now knowing that he knew and that, well, _she_ knew about us made the sight seem so weird.

"Yeah, everything is cool! We just all wanted to check on Bella and she needed some fresh air so we came with." Alice said in her normal cheery voice as she looked to me and patted me on the shoulder. I too would have actually believe she was just fine, had I not known her so well and seen her tense posture and the way her eyes showed her emotions.

"Oh..." Esme said softly as her eyebrows furrowed and she seemed to contemplate this. But as soon as I heard Alice's words, I knew there was a small glitch and I wondered if Esme was going to figure it out.

_How did we get from upstairs to outside without passing by the kitchen and by Carlisle and Esme?_

I ran that thought through my mind a couple of times and almost knew for a fact Esme would figure it out. But much to my surprise, her expression changed and she smiled affectionately at everyone.

"How sweet." She said simply, then walked over to me to place a gentle hand on my flushed cheek. "Are you feeling better now? Do you need anything?"

"N-No...thank you. I think I just want to go to bed." I said hesitantly as I tensed under her touch.

Edward surprised me when he gently took Esme's hand away from my face and placed it back at her side with a small squeeze. The act wouldn't have seemed too odd to Esme, which I believe the small hand squeeze was meant for, but one look at Edward told me he did for another reason.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go to sleep too, Mom. Goodnight." Edward said as he pulled me towards the stairs, giving Esme a tight lipped smile before turning away.

"Oh..uhm, okay sweetie. Sleep well you two." Esme called as we headed up the stairs. Edward chose not to answer her but I turned to smile and nod at her before we disappeared around the corner.

Once upstairs, Edward headed straight for my room and started to collect the pajamas I had worn last night that I had laid out on my bed, along with my pillow.

"Edward?" I asked hesitantly as he pulled me back out of the room.

"You're sleeping with me."

"But...your mom...couldn't we-" I said as he pulled me into his room shut the door behind me.

"Bella." Edward snapped irritatedly as he threw the stuff on my bed. I ducked my head as he continued to get stuff ready for bed. Once he had the bed all ready he finally came over to me and pulled my face up to him.

"I'm sorry." He sighed pleaded with me with his eyes, "I'm just still trying to process this and there's no way I can deal with this without you by my side. Right now I couldn't give a crap what my parents think, I just need you here with me, okay?"

"Okay." I said as I pulled him into me, "I love you."

"God, I love you so much." Edward sighed heavily as he held me to his. He tangled his fingers into my hair as he buried his face there before pulling my head back to kiss me on the lips.

"I-I still don't even know what to say to this..." Edward breathed quietly once he pulled back.

"It's okay, I don't either and I've known all day. I think we all just need to sleep on it." I replied as I pulled him towards the bed. He nodded as his eyes drooped at the prospect of sleep, having probably felt exhausted after the conflicting emotions that came with my news.

"Ya, sleep..." He mumbled as I pulled the covers back some more and we both climbed in.

I ignored the fact that I was still wearing my jeans as Edward pulled me to his chest, curling his arms around my stomach as he buried his face into the back of my neck.

After a few moments of stillness, when I had thought he had fallen asleep, he began to shift uncomfortably behind me while sighing ever so often in frustration. I knew what was wrong and it instantly made me frown.

I turned in his hold, slipping one arm underneath his head and the other under his arm that rested on my hip. He instantly took my silent invitation and buried himself in my embrace.

"It's going to be okay..." I breathed softly as I relaxed into him, my eyes drooping even though my mind too was still racing and restless. His warm breath carried over the sensitive skin of my neck in a pleasurably familiar way, slowly lulling me to a heavy sleep.

"It will all be okay..." I breathed again right before I feel asleep to his soft snores.

* * *

AN: I started writing the next chapter in an Alice POV, which I know some, or just one, of you wanted. But if you feel that after this chapter you need an Edward POV, just so you know what's going on in his head, please review and say so.

I got another new idea for a story, heh...buut, who knows if that will take off. I got the first chapter written and it's super cute and all human(something I said I'd never do) but I'm scared to try and take on another story plus this one. Afraid that it might make this one go slower(which I shall not let happen because I love my SWCE readers) and I'll maybe get stuck on it, like a million of my other new story ideas have.

Lastly, _who actually read both my AN? _Just curious... if so, put it in ur review and make my day! I'm happy to know that at least some of ya'll read the random stuff I have to say! Wub you guys! Review! :)


	27. Chapter 26: Don't Be Hatin'

AN: Update so soon!? I know, surprising....but I think the 15 reviews helped! Plus the few on some earlier chapters. You guys have no idea how rediculously happy that made me. It's kind of pathetic. So that gave me a little bit of motive to get this up.

There will be another AN at the end, so please read that.

( oh and as for the "disclaimer"...I thought about it...and you know this website is MADE to let people express their writing using other stories/character...so why exactly do we have to put a disclaimer? isn't it already understood that it's not ours? isn't the website one big disclaimer!? If you concur, tell me! Cus I kinda find it pointless...)

Chapter 26: Don't Be Hatin'

**APOV**

"Come on, Al!" Jasper groaned in false annoyance from where he lay beside me. "You _have_ to hate _something_."

I wasn't quite sure how we had gotten on the subject, but Jasper had been pestering me about it for the last ten minutes as we wait for the sun to rise and for everyone to wake up. Since we had gone to bed early last night, which was something that did not agree with me at all, I had woken up at five, wide awake and ready for the day ahead.

Of course, I still remembered everything from last night, all the scary things, but I had decided that I wasn't going to let it ruin my mini vacation or the time I had to get to know Jasper's parents. Even if they might not be who we thought they were...

So once I had woken up, I hadn't given it a second thought before I straddled Jasper's back from where he was sleeping on his stomach, snoring loudly into the pillow beside where my head used to be. I had no idea how I had slept through that horribly loud racket.

Fortunately for me, Jasper didn't complain one bit about being woken up and had done a great job in entertaining me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that _it _was still in the back of his mind but he had been pretty good at covering it up.

"But I don't hate anything! Except maybe Satan..." I said pausing for a moment as I thought hard. "Other than that, I don't!"

"Not possible." Jasper said with a sharp shake of his head as he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him, resting his fore head on mine. "I have a lot of things_ I _hate. Like all those annoying celebrity TV shows, the way Emmett slurps his cereal and that Spongebob show."

"Well..." I sighed as I rested my small hand on his bare bicep. Damn, it was a sexy bicep....I always had a thing for toned arms..."I guess when you put it that way, I could possibly, _maybe_ strongly dislike some things."

Jasper snorted loudly as I giggled. "Yeah, I guess that's as good as I'll get. So go ahead, tell me of these things you _might possibly strongly dislike_."

"Hmm...." I hummed as I concentrated while absently running my hand up and down his arm. "I'd have to think super hard..."

I thought awfully hard, and could feel the defined crease of frustration form on my fore head. I truly didn't think I was annoyed by anything. Yeah, I could not agree with something or it could tick me off _just a little_, but I never really thought twice of it. I usually didn't stay on one topic too long anyways...

"_10 hours later..._"Jasper said with the familiar deep, accented voice used in Spongebob, causing me to giggled.

"I thought you hated that show!"

"I do! But you know Emmett, he watches it all the time, which is really the sole reason I do hate it. Now hurry it up," He paused to tickle my sides, causing me to shriek, "because I know it can't be that difficult. Just think of something you don't like or something that makes you angry."

"Well...I really do dislike it when people come into the store and go to all the trouble of finding a shoe, trying it on and then leaving without buying it!" I said with a small huff as I tried to give him a little anger.

"That was pathetic, Alice." Jasper smirked amusedly as me.

"Okay! Okay!" I cried, really getting frustrated that I couldn't find _something_ that ticked me off. "How about this? I hate it when people use the word _swig_." I said with an angry growl as I frowned at Jasper, who just simply watched me in amusement.

"Oh really? What is it about the word _swig_, that just gets on your nerves?" Jasper taunted playfully, dragging out the word _swig_ just to get to me. Just hearing the word made me agitated and want to slap something.

"I don't know! It's just...so...so...stupid! It's like a guy word. Like _piss_ or _chug_ or something like that! And it sounds ridiculous." I sputtered, punching the bed underneath me as I sat up in a huff.

Jasper watched me, trying to hide a smile as he egged me on. He waved his hands and pounded his hand against the bed a few times, demanding that I continued, which I gladly did.

"Know what else I hate?!" I cried as I punched the bed one more time for good measure and stood up.

"No, Alice, tell me."

"Hitler! I hate Hitler!" I growled, feeling the unfamiliar feeling of fury running through me as I thought about the multitude of hated things that suddenly ran through my mind. "Killing all those people...He's a scumbag! A filthy, disgusting butthead!"

"Butthead?" Jasper gasped out as he tried to keep from laughing.

"Yes! A butthead! Also, what is with those stupid wangsters!?"

"Wangsters!?" Jasper barked out with a laugh as he finally gave up his attempt to stay quiet.

"Yes! Stupid whiteys wanna be gangsters with their pants at their knees, showing their nasty underwear!" I shrieked, stomping my feet on the bed causing Jasper to bounce as he laughed uncontrollably against the headboard. "I mean, why!? Why would they do that!? Nobody want to see their underwear! No girl should ever find that attractive! What are they thinking! I even heard that 'in the hood' it used mean they were homosexuals!"

Jasper stopped his laughing and looked at me curiously. "Really?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Fo' realz." I said with a giggle as I finally began to calm down. _What the hell just happened?_

"Wow, Alice, I didn't know you had it in you." Jasper laughed as he grabbed my ankled, causing me to fall into his lap.

I giggled and snuggled into him. "Me neither."

"Thanks for the distraction, sweety." Jasper sighed, kissing me gently on the forehead.

"I feel so used." I groaned playfully as I bent down and bit his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Well you also woke up the other four."

"Finally!" I said as I pulled away from him and hopped off of the bed.

I was literally itching to get the day started because I wanted to get some answers. I like to believe I was a good judge of character - not to mention that little hunch I always had about situations - and when I thought about Carlisle and Esme knowing, it really didn't sound all that horrible. Yes, it was scary that they had obviously found it out from someone else, but I believed there were too many different things that could be going on here for us to immediately worry about. Esme was an amazing, intelligent woman, she had to know what she was doing. If she knew all this time, there was obviously a reason she hadn't told the boys she knew.

As I quickly rummaged through my hot pink suit case for something to wear, I heard Jasper groan from the bed causing me to turn around quickly. He was sitting on the end of the bed with his head in his hands, the heel of his palms pressed into his eyes.

"Oh, Jazzy." I sighed, instantly knowing what was wrong. I walked over to him, pulling his hands away from his eyes and wrapping them around my waist. He instantly rested his for head against my chest with a shaky sigh. "Everything is going to be just fine, okay?"

"How can you know that Alice?" Jasper breathed as he pulled me tighter to him in an almost desperate manner. "I can't believe they knows. How? Did they only adopt us because they knew before hand and could handle us? I knew there was a reason they decided to move out into the middle of nowhere."

"Jasper! Don't you even continue on that thought. Just because they knows about us, how can you forget all that they've done for you; all that they've _been_ for you? Do you realize that even if they adopted you knowing this, how lucky you are to have them?" I said as I gently ran my fingers through his hair.

"I know, Alice, I know. It's just so hard not to doubt things when I realize they've known all along. I mean who told them? Do they know _everything_ about us?"

"I don't know Jasper, but think about it. You know your parent, they are smart, loving people, don't you think they'd have a good reason to not tell you they know? And can you really believe that all the things they've done for you was out of duty?"

"You're right, Alice, completely right. It's just scary, you know?" He finally said weakly.

"I know." I sighed deeply. I felt so useless in helping everyone cope with this. I could just tell from the silence from the other rooms that everyone else wasn't fairing too well. It was obviously my job to either take their minds off of it or reassure them of my "feeling".

Breakfast was a quiet occasion, no matter how hard I tried to get everyone to liven up, it just didn't work. I didn't think it was such a good idea for everyone's attitudes to change so dramatically; Carlisle and Esme would surely notice the change.

It was scary though, that everyone was so quiet. It made me extremely nervous knowing that everyone was worrying about this so much. We just really needed to talk about this and keep from pondering this in our minds.

After breakfast, the boys told us to go change into something warm for our trip through the woods. While I was pulling out a wool long sleeve shirt, Jasper handed me one of my camys and told me to wear that underneath. He didn't have to tell me why.

"Mom." Jasper called quietly as we all congregated to the front door. A moment later Esme appeared from around the corner with a questioning look. "We are going out for a hike."

"Okay, you all be careful and be sure to be back before lunch." Esme said before we all left quietly and began our trek into the woods.

It was still quiet as we made our way down the small dirt path to who knows where. Every thud of someone's boot that followed with continual silence brought me closer and closer to the edge of insanity. I couldn't take it anymore, they were driving me crazy.

"Will someone say something!" I screamed as I halted my steps and stomped my foot. I glared meaningfully at ever single one of their surprised faces. "You all are acting like someone died!"

"Alice, what do you want us to say?" Edward sighed as he fell against a tree, gently resting his head back.

"I don't know, but we need to talk about this and stop being so quiet. The more time you all spend thinking about this in your own heads the more worse it's going to seem."

"How can it get any worse?" Emmett breathed as he shook his head. I couldn't see his dimples and just the sound of his voice - so serious and solemn - made my chest hurt.

"What do you mean? You all think this is such a horrible thing. So Carlisle and Esme know, why are we waiting around for our minds to continue to come up with these horrible scenarios as to how or why. We need to talk to them." I stressed the last part as I pointed back towards the house.

At my words, everyone stiffened.

"Talk to them!? Are you crazy!? They could very well be the enemy!" Rosalie almost shrieked in horror. I could tell that she believed her own words, but by the look of everyone else, they didn't seem so sure.

"Please tell me you don't actually believe that? This is Carlisle and Esme, have they ever done anything for you to believe they are against us? They gave the boys a home, they gave them the one thing they needed most - _parents_." I said, traitor tears beginning to form in my eyes at the thought of them believing that sweet Carlisle and Esme would betray them. Even though I understood how this whole situation would cause them to doubt, I didn't think they'd ever believe such a thing.

"Alice's is right." Bella said softly as she fidgeted with the end of her coat sleeve. "I don't know everything about Carlisle and Esme, but from what I've learned and seen in the short time I've been here, I don't believe they'd ever be against us."

"So how exactly are we going to talk to them about this?" Jasper sighed as Bella's head snapped up and she looked to Edward. He returned her glance but did nothing more until she nudged him and seemed to communicate something to him.

"Oh." Edward said with a nod. "I guess I know of a way...I had been thinking about proposing that we tell Esme and Carlisle about us, you know, since we've been going through all this stuff with James and we might need some help. So we could probably tell them about us and then maybe they would tell us they already know. Something like that..."

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Edward had mumbled through his whole speech as he avoided eye contact with everyone. I knew as soon as I saw Emmett and Jasper's expressions to this news, why Edward was so nervous to share. He had obviously thought over this for a while and had spoken to Bella before anyone else about it.

"When were you going to tell us?" Emmett grunted.

"I had just talked to Bella about it yesterday, it would have probably been last night if it wasn't for everything that happened." Edward defended.

Emmett was about to say something more, but I quickly intervened. "I think it is a good idea. If we do it that way, than we don't have to explain how we know they know." Bella ducked her head bashfully. I chuckled. "It's okay Bella, I have to say I'm actually proud of you. I didn't think you had it in you."

We quickly decided that it was best to have the talk soon, since tomorrow was Christmas Eve. We didn't want to ruin the Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas day by having this over our heads.

The boys showed us a small clearing not too far from where we had stopped and we spent the next few hours stretching our wings and freezing our butts off. It was extremely inconvenient to have to remove our jackets and sweaters in such cold weather.

"At least I know you won't catch a cold." Jasper breathed as he rubbed my arms while I started to pull my sweater back on. He had it worse than I did, having had to go completely shirtless.

"Well it's good to know your knowledge of me being less delicate than you thought didn't keep you from making sure I'm okay." I said with a smile as he helped me button my coat.

"Of course not." He replied with a sweet smile as he bent over and kissed me sweetly. I helped him get back into his own sweater and jacket while he shivered and his teeth chattered. It was so adorable I couldn't even resist pulling him in for a kiss.

"Oh, come on!" Emmett cried as he walked past us with Rosalie tucked under his shoulder. "I want to hurry up and get back, I forgot how unpleasant this is in the winter. I'm freezing!"

We started the hike back to the house, this time with a little more life and conversation. The closer we got to the house though, the more focused we all became on not freaking out and getting our vicious shivering under control. As good as it felt to stretch out my wings, it was almost forgotten after my whole upper torso felt as if it was suffering from frost bite.

By the time we made it back to the house it was lunch time and the sounds of Esme cooking in the kitchen could clearly be heard from the edge of the woods. I could feel and hear my heart beating frantically, along with everyone else's, with every step we took nearer the house.

"Guys?" I said quietly, my steps not slowing as I continued forward without looking at them. "Remember, it's Carlisle and Esme."

Before it even registered to me really, lunch was over - it was just as quiet as breakfast - and we had all congregated to the living room like Edward had suggested. All six of us sat on one side of the living room and Carlisle and Esme sat on a small love seat on the other.

Esme and Carlisle watched all of us cautiously but with loving expressions as they held the others hand. My heart was beating frantically in my chest as I waited....patiently for someone to start...

_Anyone..._

I huffed as I sharply turned my head to gaze at everyone else. They all just sat there, either watching Carlisle and Esme with worried expressions or staring off into space absently.

"Well, as you I'm sure you've noticed," I began softly as I straightened in my seat,"something has..._been on our minds_."

Esme nodded knowingly as her eyes searched each of our faces. "Yes, I have noticed." She said simply, in a small voice.

"Well...I don't exactly know how to begin to explain _any_ of this..." I sputtered slightly, not exactly sure how I was going to go about starting. How do you start a conversation with you boyfriend's parents concerning the fact that we - like them - were some type of bird mutants? That the boys had kept that from them since the moment they met them? Though now that we knew they knew the whole time, that didn't really matter.

I glanced over at Bella, hoping that maybe because she was with me in my feeling towards Carlisle and Esme, that she would have something to say to help me, but she just simply looked back at me with a worried expression.

Then came a gasp from across the living room that brought my gaze back to Esme, who had her hands covering her mouth as her eyes flickered from me to Bella to Edward.

_Uh oh._

"She's pregnant." Esme gasped as she shook her head vigorously. "That's why she was sick last night. I-I-I'm going to be a Grandmother?" Though her eyes looked frantic and panicky, when she removed her hand from in front of her mouth, you could clearly see the smile threatening to break through.

At her words, we all collectively gasped in shock and reeled back. If I hadn't been so surprised and struck still, I would have laughed at everyones identical reaction. It was utterly ridiculous - and kind of funny - how one glance between Bella and I could give her such a lurid idea.

"No!" Bella almost shrieked in surprise as she glanced between Esme, Carlisle and Edward, a blush quickly spreading from her cheeks down to her chest. "No! No, no no, I'm not pregnant."

_You have to have sex to get pregnant._

I accidentally let a giggle escape at that thought, and instantly covered my mouth and ducked my head.

"No, Mom, she's not pregnant." Edward said urgently and I peeked up to see him turn to Bella. He ran a finger softly down her bright red cheek and seemed to be trying awfully hard not to laugh.

"Oh." Esme breathed and I could tell in her voice that she was both relieved and disappointed. "Well that's..."

She trailed off and I knew she wasn't going to finish, and from the sad look on Carlisle's face, I knew he understood exactly how conflicted Esme was feeling. He pulled her hand that had previously clamped over her lips and kissed it lightly before holding it in his own on his lap.

"No, that's not it." Jasper said from beside me as he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "There is something we want to tell you. Something very important...something we haven't told _anyone _before."

Both of their eyes widened for a fraction of a second, almost too short a moment for someone to notice. But I did.

"Go on." Esme softly urged.

"Uhm, well we are afraid it will be difficult to explain since we are still so much in the dark on everything. We only know the obvious..." I said with a deep frown and turned to the others.

"We aren't...at least we don't _think_, we are human."

And then there was silence as Esme and Carlisle's eyebrows furrowed and they looked rather confused. If I hadn't already known they knew, then I really would have believed they were confused.

There were a few soft sighs from our side as we all watched their reaction, and even at that I almost laughed. I knew it wasn't right, but I liked to believe that this situation was funny in some twisted way.

_Or maybe it was just me..._

"You see...we ah...we have uhmm..." I stuttered out, then made some weird motions with my hands over my shoulder.

"You have?" Esme asked, her voice shaky as she obviously tried to remain calm. She had obviously never expected the boys - let alone Bella, Rosalie and I - to ever tell them about what we are.

Bella huffed, blowing a few stray hairs that had fallen in her face away, and said sharply, "We have wings."

I smirked and ducked my head, attempting to stifle the giggles that threatened to flow from me.

Emmett coughed loudly into his hands and adjusted himself in his seat. "That was subtle..."

"Sorry...but really, how else are we suppose to say it?" Bella blushed once again as we all simply watched Carlisle and Esme.

They both now had blank expressions as they seemed to think over our words. I hoped, for the sake of time and embarrassment to Bella, that they wouldn't continue to pretend they never knew.

"Uhm..." Carlisle started as he also coughed uncomfortably. "Then I guess we have things to tell you all too."

_Thank God_.

**EPOV**

My head was pounding painfully. It had been this way all day, only lessening slightly with our hike where I got to relieve the aching in my back. But even then, my head was killing me. Part of me just wanted to crawl back into bed and pass out while the other was begging for all my worries to be put to rest.

Of course, the only way that last option would work was to talk to Carlisle and Esme, which was exactly why I so desperately wanted the first option.

I didn't know what I would get out of the conversation with my parents, it could very well be news that made me feel even more sick, that gave me new fears and doubts. But I couldn't very well ignore the fact that now, after Bella had not so gently spilled the beans, I felt immensely better.

It was one bridge crossed and a weight off my already tense shoulders.

Of course there was the one incident, where Esme believed Bella was pregnant. That really didn't do anything to me other than make me laugh and my mind to be flooded with the beautiful image of a little girl with chocolate brown eyes and blushed cheeks.

Though now that I thought about it, that very image should have scared the shit out of me. But it didn't. It was a welcoming, beautiful, random thought that had lifted the corners of my lips from the heavy frown it had worn all day.

And now, as I waited for Carlisle to continue, I was tense all over again. My mind flooded with thoughts of betrayal and doubt.

I would be lying if I said that this news didn't change the way I looked at my parents just a little. I feel bad about it, but there was really nothing I could do. I had believe for so long, that they were ignorant to what we were and what we were going through. In a way, it was my security blanket. It made me feel safe knowing that even though we kept something so important form them, they would always just see the normal us.

It made me wonder if they had found out on their own or if they already knew. I would think that if they found out on their own, they would come to us about it. So obviously that meant they either knew before, or were told by someone else after they adopted us.

That last option scared me the most. It meant, most likely, that there were people watching us. People that knew about us enough to contact them and inform them of what kind of kids they had adopted.

I shook my head, confused and frustrated by all my scattered thoughts. There were so many things I didn't know that left me overwhelmed with questions I needed to be answered.

"We already know." Carlisle stated quite bluntly.

That was something else I hated about this situation. There really was no way to ease into any of our points. Everything we said just sounded so blunt and because of that it was so much more worse for us to hear.

Carlisle and Esme watched us with curious expressions, obviously expecting us to react to their confession.

"We know you know..." Bella said softly from where she sat practically molded to my side, her little hand clutching my knee tensely. I slid my hand across my leg and over her hand, rubbing her knuckles softly.

Suddenly, Carlisle chuckled rather loudly, causing us all to jump in surprise. "That's why you decided now was a good time to tell us." He said with a wide grin as he nodded his head almost in approval.

"How did you know?" Esme asked, her own little smile showing.

"Uhm...That's not important, but what is, is how do _you_ know about us?" I said as I willed myself to relax.

"Well, that's a very complicated story." Esme stated.

"Well then, let's start with this; How long have you known?" Jasper asked with confidence.

Esme and Carlisle shared a look, then slowly turned their gazes back on us. "We've knowing since we were told a few months after we adopted you."

"Who told you?"

"Well, you see, that's where it gets complicated. We could give you a name, but it really would mean nothing to you. We would have to explain everything we know. Which, really, isn't much at all." Esme said with small frown.

"Well go ahead." Alice said as she nodded her head in encouragement. "We have time."

"Hmmm..." Esme hummed as she tapped a delicate finger to her lips. "Where to start....Carlisle? Do you want to explain, or should I?"

Carlisle smiled at Esme and nodded once before turning to us, looking each of us in the eye. "Well, like your mother said, we were told just a few months after you moved in. A man, named Christopher Troy, contacted us and told us. And also, like your mother said, we don't know much. He told us all the facts we needed to know - like the fact that your senses are more advanced, you regenerate remarkably fast, and, of course, you can fly."

He paused for a moment, either to gather his thoughts or give us a moment to think over his words, I wasn't sure, but he started again after taking a deep breath.

"He also told us that it was important that we keep your identity a secret. That the new names you were given after being found were safe, but that we had to make sure you didn't reveal yourself to anyone. That's why we moved out here, so that you would be more secluded for your own safety and so that you had a chance to be yourself when you couldn't around us." Carlisle said, ending as he ducked his head away from us.

Esme laid a gentle hand on his shoulder before speaking. "As for the fact that we never told you all that we knew...well that was our choice. Christopher said that we could tell you three if we wanted, but we felt it was something you guys needed to come to us about. You were already such quiet, reserved little boys, I could tell y'all were scared of adults. Afraid of what would happen if people knew, because you may be harmed or criticized. We felt that if we told you, you may not feel comfortable with us. We wanted you three to stay with us so badly, so we didn't speak of it. We just did our best to make you comfortable, make you feel loved and cared for." Esme finished with a soft smile as a small tear escaped the corner of her eyes.

It was so much to take in, yet it was such comforting news. It was so much simpler than all the things I had guessed. Their explanation didn't give proof to my fears about what them knowing could possibly mean. It only showed me that I should never have doubted them. They were put into a situation they never anticipated when they had adopted us, yet the whole time they were only concerned about our well being. Going so far as to move away from their family and friends who lived in Forks, just so that we could live more safe and comfortable.

And with that last thought I was up and across the room, bringing my mother into a tight hug. "I love you, Mom."

* * *

**Sorry I stopped it there, but if I didn't the chapter would have been really really long, and I have plans for the next from where this leaves off. Unfortunetly, the next one probably wont be up as quick as this, first because I havn't started it yet and also because it has an idea I've had since the very beginning of this story! So, yes, be excited or scared, whichever. Honestly, I'm both. :P**

**Okay, so there are a few things here I need to ask/say/tell, whatev. Did any of you get the "ten hours later" thing? Cus I haven't watched Spongebob in quite a while, but I do remember that weird voice that would say that..If you do, tell me cus ...yea I wanna know if at least some of y'all got that part... As for the "wangsters", if you don't know what it means, it's a "white gangster" or "white boy wanna be" ...yeah...lol**

**Idk if y'all noticed, but I changed the "chapter navigation" or the little list of all my chapters...It was originally just the name of the chapter...but I changed it because...well, I'm a weirdo like that. I think I made it look cooler, made it look longer and because of that it made me feel more accomplished... **

**So anyways, I hope this gave you a little bit to mule over until i get the next chap up...I hope theres no famous Christopher Troys, because I didn't really look into it. I just thought it sounded nice...**

**I know there wont be as many reviews as last week because everyone is back in school :( but any makes me happy and I read and smile at every one of them! I wub you guys! Just like Edward wubs his Mama! Which is a lot! So review and make ur mama happy!....**

**Okay that was a little creepy...Goodbye! :)**


	28. Chapter 27: Free Fall

**Author's Note: You all probably hate my guts. And I have to say...I don't blame you. :( But there was/has been/may be for a while a major writers block. I just can't get into the "mood". Like I WANT to write, ohhh how I want to!, but it just wont come to me! So I apologize for that, but I can't just make myself, or else it will suck major!**

**So anyways, I can't promise the next update to be soon, especially since this month is going to be pretty busy for me. I'm going to New York at the end of the month! Eeeee! First time and I'm sooo excited. Plus I will be working a lot during spring break and I am not taking a break off of school for spring break either. Idk if anyone knows, but I'm homeschooled and so I do things different. I started the school year late, so I'm not taking off spring break so I can catch up a little. **

**I haven't even started the next chapter, so idk when it'll be up and finished. Please, no angry reviews(if I even get any) because I love all my fans and I don't think I can handle yall hating me :(**

Chapter 27: Free Fall

**BPOV**

I could not recall a time in the past that I was so relieved, except maybe the moment I realized Edward, Jasper and Emmett were like us. All of the information that Carlisle and Esme had given us has quited every assumption I had made, every scary scenario my mind had conjured up, and that had made me feel almost weightless compared to before.

But even with that sense of relief, I couldn't help my whole body from trembling. I think I was just on some kind of buzz after all the information I was trying to process and all the the feelings I was trying to redirect. Like changing how I looked at Carlisle and Esme since I had, for a moment, assumed they were "the bad guys".

For that I felt a little guilty, but had concluded that it really was a reasonable reaction when you were kept in the dark about your own life. That and I always tended to think the worst in a situation. It was a horrible habit...

"What about us?" I said softly, as I rubbed my trembling hands together and watched Edward pull away from his embrace with Esme.

I smiled as he kissed her gently on the fore head before returning to his seat beside me. His closeness made me try my hardest to get my trembling under control, but it wasn't working and I knew he would notice.

Sure enough, before Esme could answer me, he had wound his arms around my waist and pulled be into his lap, gently resting his chin on my shoulder. "I love you." He breathed against my ear, causing me to shiver - though I doubt with all the trembling he could have noticed - and instantly relax.

"Thank you." I breathed as I leaned back into his embrace, resting my head against his, and waited for Esme to speak.

"I'm sorry, honey, but we don't know much about that either. Christopher only told us that there were originally six of you total. And that you girls had gotten separated. He told of the little detail of the tattoo, not what it meant, but that you all had it. He told Carlisle and I that it was a great possibility that you three would be coming into the boy's lives. I was just so surprised that it was so soon! I mean it has only been a few months since they moved out! And when Edward-" She cut herself off, her eyes going wide as she held her hand over her mouth, "Never mind that...I'm just happily surprised."

"How would Christopher know we'd find each other?" Rosalie asked.

It was a good question and from the looks on everyone else's faces it had them stumped too. There was no logical way he would have known we would randomly find each other in this big city. Even now I was still amazed that we ever did. It couldn't be coincidence, but what other explanation was there?

"That's a good question." She nodded, "I didn't really ask too many questions. I kind of felt it maybe wasn't my place. It was all so secretive...I haven't even spoken to him for a few years until yesterday."

"Where does he live?"

"Oh...uhm, you see..." Esme stuttered, looking a little nervous now. "Now don't freak out, kids, but he lives rather close to y'all."

All six of us went silent and still as we watched Esme fidget and processed her words.

"How close?" Jasper asked for the rest of us.

"Really, _really_ close." Esme said with a soft, awkward giggle. "Like...in the same apartment complex."

"What!?" Came the chorus of outraged voices from our side of the living room. At her words we had all jumped in surprise, Rosalie even jumping to her feet.

"Calm down, calm down!" Esme chided as Carlisle sat quietly beside her watching us all with concern. He really was a very quiet man....

"Please, Rosalie, sit." Esme nodded to Rose and she begrudgingly plopped back down next to Emmett. "Now like I said, don't freak out about this. I assure you that he means no harm what-so-ever. He is simply there to "look after" you all. That is what he said and I believe him. Christopher has all of y'alls best interest at heart and speaks nothing but kind things about you. And because of that and the fact that he lives so close to make sure you are all safe, I take it that he doesn't only do it because he cares for you, but because it's necessary."

"What would he be protecting us from?" _And was what we found in our file in Mrs. Dwyer's office proof that this Christopher man was protecting us?_ Of course I wanted to voice this question too, for Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Edward's benefit, but I didn't think it would be too smart to tell Esme about our illegal acts.

"Well he didn't say specifically, but you have to wonder where the tattoos came from, right? I don't believe Christopher would have done it, since it wouldn't have helped in keeping you all safe. And I couldn't imagine what evil person would tattoo - or better yet _brand_ - you when you were so young. Perhaps it is those people he is protecting you from." Esme suggested.

She was right and her assumption seemed to make me feel both relieved and bothered. Relieved that maybe someone really was out there looking after us, making sure we were protected from whatever scary past we had. But I was bother by the mere confirmation that there was a great possibility that whoever "branded" us might still be out there.

"This is all so scary to think about." Alice said as she shook her head in despair. "Part of me wishes I could remember so that I might know something about this whole mess. But the other part doesn't want to know because I'll probably feel better not knowing..."

And that pretty much summed up all of our feelings.

"I know it must be scary, especially since you don't remember anything. But just know that Carlisle and I are here, and also Christopher. We are here if you need any of us. There's nothing we wouldn't do for any of y'all. Alice, Rosalie and Bella, that includes you. You are a part of this family now."

Her words made me smile and my eyes water a little. "Thank you." I said before I crossed the room and pulled them both into a hug.

"I'm so glad you three found my boys. I look forward to having more girls around." Esme whispered in my ear before I pulled back and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After Alice and Rosalie too had hugged Carlisle and Esme - though Alice's "hug" was more of a jump-in-their-lap-and-squeal-like-crazy kind of hug - we all fell into light conversation. An almost silent agreement passing through us all that we weren't going to ponder too much on the dreaded situation and just enjoy our holiday.

While Esme, Rosalie and I were listening to Alice describe all the dresses she had bought for us for the fancy Christmas Eve dinner - secretly I might add, because neither Rose or I knew about it - Edward gently grasped my hand to get my attention.

"Why don't we go get ready? Jasper, Emmett and I have a surprise for you girls." Edward whispered as he gently pulled me from the couch and I turned to see Emmett and Jasper doing the same to Rose and Alice.

"What kind of surprise?" I asked hesitantly with a quirked eyebrow.

Edward chuckled and placed a finger on my eyebrow to playfully pull it down. "A surprise you are going to enjoy without whining. Because no matter how adorable I think your pout is, I really want to see you enjoy your surprise without it."

By the time he had finished we were in my room and he didn't give me a chance to respond before he was bent over my suit case, elbows deep in piles of clothes.

"And this surprise means I can't dress myself?" I asked with a giggle as he pulled something small and lacy from the suitcase. His eyes grew wide and he threw it away from himself as if it was on fire, a small blush forming on his cheeks.

Edward coughed uncomfortably as he continued to search through my bag. "Not really...You have to wear something specific and if I try to explain it, it will give too much away."

I groaned as I was forced to wonder whatever he could be surprising me with. Hopefully it wasn't anything expensive.

An hour later and Rosalie, Alice and myself were all waiting in the living room for the boys to finish whatever it was they were doing. Edward had chosen pretty normal clothes for me, so I had on a pair of warm jeans, _two_ spaghetti strap camis - that was the only weird thing about my outfit - and a long sleeve black sweater.

Eventually Jasper came into the living room lugging a large picnic basket and a few thick blankets. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing when he simply walked past us and out the front door.

"This is killing me!" Alice whined as stomped her boot on the ground. "Where are we going? It's flippin' cold out there and we are going on a picnic!?"

"Like hell I'm going on a picnic in the middle of winter in Colorado." Rosalie huffed just as Emmett came barging into the room with some more blankets and a box of matches.

"Stop your complaining." Emmett chuckled as he playfully poked her in the side as he passed and dropped the stuff he held by the front door.

"Where's Edward?" I asked.

"Out loading the truck with some wood." Emmett said absently as he tapped his finger and gazed off absently, as if going through a mental check list.

By the time they seemed to have everything ready and put into the back of one of Carlisle's trucks, the sun was start to get closer and closer to the horizon. I still couldn't for the life of me figure out what we were doing. Were we going camping? In _this_ weather?

**EPOV**

There was no way to explain how excited I was as Emmett, Jasper and I raced around the house getting things ready for our "surprise". I couldn't wait to see the girl's faces when we finally pulled up to our favorite place here in Colorado.

There was this cliff that we had found about a year after we had moved here. We stumbled upon it randomly on one of our many hikes through the woods and it had been "our spot" ever since. It had the most amazing view and was secluded enough so that we could jump of the edge and free fall for at least half a mile before spreading our wings wide and shooting back up.

No matter how many times we visited the spot or how many times we jumped from that cliff, the feeling always stayed the same. It never lost its beauty and it never stopped giving us the simple feeling of freedom. And for our kind and having been so tightly bound, so worried about our true identity being compromised, the feeling of freedom was a rarity.

"Where are you guys going?" Esme asked with a smile as I was helping Bella pull on her winter coat.

"Well, I would tell you...but then it'd ruin the surprise for the girls. I'd attempt to whisper it to you...but you know we can practically hear everything from a mile away." I said with a large smile. It made me feel even better knowing that I could speak freely about our little quirks to my parents. I had been imagining having to not hold back anything with them for a very long time.

"Well that's no fun." Esme pouted.

"Well let's see..." Jasper sighed and I could tell he was going to try and explain to Esme where we were going without giving anything away to the girls. "You remember that place we always went to? Where you weren't allowed and we'd spend almost all day?"

I frowned and shook my head, knowing he'd never hint to her where we were going. But surprisingly Esme's eyebrows rose and she let out a silent 'oh'.

"You mean where you..._you know_." Esme said and I could tell by the almost dreamy awed look that she really did get it. Perhaps she saw more than we thought since she knew more about us than we thought.

"Aw, come on!" Rosalie complained with a small smile on her face, causing us all to laugh. "Throw us a bone here, Esme!"

"Sorry, Rose." Esme giggled, "No can do. But trust me, this will me an _amazing_ surprise."

And from the look on Esme's face I knew that she really meant it and I wondered if maybe she would like to come along. I could just imagine that if she was awed just at the thought of it that she would be amazed to watch us.

"Why don't you come with us?" I found myself asking, my hands stilling on the zipper of my own jacket.

Esme's eyes widened and she gasped in surprise. I looked to Emmett and Jasper to see they were shocked, but seemed to think it was a great idea.

"Re-really?" Esme stuttered out in a low breath, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You mean, I can see it?"

The girls stilled from putting on their gloves or scarfs to see what was wrong with Esme. I could imagine her reaction was confusing them even more.

"Yeah, why not?" Emmett said with a wide smile.

"Oh boys!" Esme half squealed, half sobbed as she jumped forward to pull us all into a hug. A moment later she practically pushed us away hastily and ran from the room. "Carlisle!" She screeched as I heard her hurried footsteps down the hall.

"Is she okay?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just being emotional." Emmett said with a shrug causing me to roll my eyes and Rosalie to slap him upside the head.

"Maybe you should be a little more sympathetic? It would do you and the back of your head some good!" Rose bit out as she glared at him.

"Shesh! Sorry!"

"Come on, come on!" I heard Esme squeal and I turned back to see her dragging Carlisle as she bounced to us, already bundled up in her winter wear. "Okay, we are ready! Let's go!"

We all chuckled and finally headed out to the truck. Now that there were two extra people coming, there were not enough seats, so Emmett, Jasper and I offered to ride in the back of the truck since it wasn't a long drive. I gave Carlisle the simple directs through the dirt roads and we were on our way.

"Stop here." I said loudly as I tapped on the roof of the truck and jumped over the truck bed when he stopped. I blew into my hands and rubbed them across my face to get my nose warmed up a little as I opened the back door of the truck and helped Bella out.

"Aw! Your nose is all pink! You poor baby." Bella cooed in a high pitched voice as she giggled and tried to pinch my cheeks.

"Har har." I smiled as I slapped her hands away and pulled her towards the back of the truck. After everyone had a few thing to carry I led us all through the small dirt trail Emmett, Jasper and I made.

A few minutes later and we all finally stepped off the end of the trail and into the small, round clearing that connected to the edge of the cliff. The bright, pink and orange sun was setting, alighting the clouds with bright colors that irritated my sensitive eyes.

The entire group - minus Jasper, Emmett and I - gasped at the sight, and instantly covered their eyes from the sun. Quickly, so as to see the girls reaction to why we had brought them here - because surely it was obvious with the cliff - we deposited our stuff onto the snow.

"Oh my..." I heard Bella breath from a few feet away and I turned to see her staring at the cliff and the river below. She turned to me with an awed expression, her pink lips shaping an 'o' as she pointed to the cliff. "We can..."

She didn't finished but I knew exactly what she was asking and I nodded my head. As if she already knew my answer, she instantly began to pull of her scarf and jacket, leaving on her gloves and hat for extra warmth. The sight didn't sit well with me, even though I knew she'd have to take off her jacket and sweater in order to let her wings out. I just didn't like knowing she'd be out here - let alone flying through the air - in such freezing temperature.

In sync with each other, we all then proceeded to take off our own coats, still in silent awe of what we were about to do, of the experience we were about to share with each other.

I shivered violently and hissed as the cold air hit my bare chest and couldn't even find it in me tease Bella as she stared at my bare chest for a few seconds like she always did every time I took off my t-shirt. Only this time she was only half ogling, half of her mind somewhere else as she waited.

Her eyes flickered to something to the side and I followed her gaze to where Carlisle and Esme stood, and the sight made my breath catch for a moment, having forgotten they were even there.

Esme had the tips of her fingers pressed to her lips as she watched us, tears forming in her eyes that were so full of awe and concern. The concern was probably because we were all shivering like crazy. Carlisle's expression was pretty much the same, minus the tears.

"Oh, hell!" Alice cried from behind me, bringing me from my thoughts. "I can't wait anymore!"

And with that she was bounding through the shallow snow in her knee high boots towards the cliff, her wings breaking through the skin and coiling to her back so as not to drag her behind as she ran.

Bella gasped in surprise but not a moment later was also running to the edge of the cliff, causing my breath to hitch and my heart to stutter.

Forget the uneasiness from seeing Bella standing in the snow in a tank top. That was nothing compared to the sight of watching her run towards the edge of a cliff, her intent to jump over the side!

I took a sharp step forward, not even taking notice to Rosalie who had took off running too, as I opened my mouth to yell for Bella to wait. But nothing came but a surprised gasp as I saw her jump and disappear over the side with her wings still hiding beneath the skin of her back.

I knew that my reactions to this was irrational, but it was still something that went against my strong urge to keep her safe.

So without even taking time to see how Carlisle and Esme were taking the whole sight, I was flinging myself off the cliff, my arms spread wide and the familiar feeling of cold air rushing past me as I free fell towards the gray scenery beneath me.

My eyes searched frantically below me for any sight of Bella and I felt relief rush through me as I spotted her. The sight was beautiful, her pure white, large wings spread wide as she tilted her head back and soared up at an angle, riding the chilly air current.

I ignored the other four flying around me as I made my way to Bella, flying up beside her. She turned her head to me, her cheeks and nose a bright pink that almost made me frown, before she gave me the most glorious smile I had ever seen appear on her beautiful face. "This is amazing, Edward!"

I simply smiled at her, caught her hand in mine and kissed her cold fingers. For the next hour we just enjoyed the free flight, the beautiful scenery that pasted by us and the sight of each other together, flying without having to worry about anyone seeing us.

Around about the time when we were brought out of our little world by the other's playful screams as they chased each other, the sun had finally disappeared behind the mountains and the only light came from the bright pink sky.

We joined in with the others and had a good time chasing each other and seeing who was the fastest, but eventually we had to make our way back to the cliff since it was steadily getting colder now that we didn't have the sun to warm us.

When we got back, all of us landing softly in front of where Carlisle and Esme stood, Esme was instantly running towards us, pulling each of us into a warm hug - bother figuratively and literally.

I felt like a human popsicle.

"That was most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed." Esme stuttered out as she returned back to Carlisle's side and her eyes continued to rake over each of our forms, having never seen us like this before.

Esme opened her mouth to say more, but couldn't seem to get anything out and simply shook her head in wonder and looked up at Carlisle.

"That was...Words can not even describe what seeing the made me and your mother feel. Thank you. For letting us experience this." Carlisle said and coughed uncomfortably into his hand. I could tell he was trying hard not to cry.

After we had all gotten bundled back into our coats and the blankets we had brought, we set up the fire with the supplies we had brought and soon enough we were all sitting on a log around the large fire. Bella was wrapped up in a blanket as tight as I could get her because her heavy shivering was bothering me.

"Edward." Bella whispered from where she was curled against my side, my arms wrapped around her. "This has to be one of the best days of my life. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." I breathed as I bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you." I breathed against her lips and felt them curl against mine.

"I love you too. So much."

We didn't stay much longer, no matter how warm the fire was and how much food we had brought. We were all pretty tired - either from flying for so long which wasn't something we did a lot(we were a little "out of shape" so to speak) or from the emotional day we all had.

And as I rode in the back seat of the warm truck, packed in between Jasper and Emmett, Bella sitting comfortably on my lap, I couldn't help but smile because I knew today had been one of the best days of our lives. For even Carlisle and Esme.

Because we had all shared something special together. Something no one else would ever get the chance to see or feel. It had brought us all closer, if that was even a possibility.

We were a complete family now. And I knew it couldn't get any better than this.

* * *

**So I actually didn't like this chapter at all. Idk why, but I thought it was crap. So if you agree, say so but not be too harsh, and if you disagree, I could use the encouragement. **

**And as I said before, idk when I will update, but lets hope it's not forever!**

**P.S. If you haven't already seen, I have a new story up(Dreaming of You), so go check it out!**


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